Coming of Age
by A Pyro's Rage
Summary: R&R A child was born with a surgical complication that caused him to lose most of his blood, an immediate blood transfusion was done, however the blood was mutated. Has OCKitty, Jubby, Romy, & more Ch.47 Friends Close
1. Forward: Death Levels All Things

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own any of this; I own Marc Maseon and any other unfamiliar characters, but nothing else.

A.p.R. (A Pyro's Rage): This Chapter is not that great do not judge the story by this. I just finish corrections on the first two chapters…man it's kind of weird looking back at my old work and then running in fear at their horrible grammar and spelling and punctuation and wrong word usage…my writing style sure has change…now I'll shut up so you can read…Peace.

Please Review.

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Foreword: Death Levels All Things

When Marc Maseon was born in 1988, a surgical complication caused him to lose most of the blood in his body, an immediate blood transfusion was necessary. His mother, Marie, was to weak from the birth and his father, Max, was out of town at the time. Luckily a mysterious emergency donor, who disappeared before the transfusion was complete and a miracle, Marc was saved; the blood however was 'different.'

At 15, he and his parents were celebrating his high school basketball team's state championship victory with a trip to a Phoenix Suns game, when a drunk driver ran a red light and t-boned their car. Do to Marc's emerging healing abilities he survived, but sadly his mother was killed on impact and his father was left in critical condition and losing blood rapidly. When no other relatives could be reach, Marc agreed to an emergency blood transfusion.

--------Hospital lobby (Past)---------

Was life so fragile, so fickle, that a single sentence, a few words, could break a person…ruin their beliefs and slowly, agonizingly, whittle away at one's soul?

Marc sat in a waiting room chair, slightly bent over, head in hands.

A man in a white coat walked out from the back. "I'm so sorry, son, your…your father has passed away."

"No…no! How? They said…they said that..." Marc struggled to form a full sentence as millions of thoughts crossed his mind in a spit-second.

"We did all we could do."

"Liars, your all liars...you did nothing!" Marc sobbed. 'You said he'd be okay, you said…he…you bastards." He said collapsing onto his knees bawling.

Why God? What have I done? I thought you cared about us. I must have been crazy to believe those stupid stories I hear in church! I have done everything that you wanted and you do this to me…to them?

----------- 5 Days Later (Present)-------------

"Marc are you ready, sweetie?" She said peaking into the room

"Almost Tí a Halley." He replied struggling with his tie.

"Need help with your tie, Marc?"

"No thanks…I got it."

Marc looked at himself in the mirror before him, everything was perfect just five days ago, in five short days his world was torn to shreds. He had all he ever wanted, loving parents and family, his basketball team had just won the state championship, a normal life. Now he was putting on a black suit so he could go off to see his parents for the last time.

"Meet me in the car, okay."

"Yeah…okay Halley"

-

The man who said, "A person's death is more the survivors' affair than their own." was, now more then ever, right.

The funeral was painful…seeing the roses and pictures and reading the eulogy to all of his relatives. It was bearing down on him, couldn't he just forget about everything. Marc watched the coffins as they were lowered into the opening in the ground, his tears damming up in his eyes as he tried to force them back. He started to have flashbacks he could not battle the tears any longer and gave in an let the warn tears flow down his face. He felt his emotions and rage building, becoming too much to handle. His hand were burning, it felt like his brain was combusting.

He started get short of breathe, he felt dizzy.

"What's happening to me?" he thought. "What's going on?"

-

He pulled it together made it through the funeral, for them he knew they wouldn't want him to be like this. He kneeled over their head stone and read the inscription, 'Death is the golden key to eternity.' Marc wiped a loose tear that trickled down his face. He pulled a white rose from a large bouquet that was left by another mourner. He kissed the flower and placed the blossom atop the stone. "You two were the best parents I could've ever asked for. I'm lost without you…you guys know that right?" With those tearful words he rose and slowly walk away from their final resting place.

-

The ride home he couldn't help but cry until he couldn't.

"Damn it! Damn it!" Marc said pounding his clenched fist onto the armrest."

"Calm down Marc, don't hurt yourself." Halley said.

"Calm Down?! Is that all you could say to me? I'll never see my parents again and I have to calm down?!" Marc snapped.

"Honey, please calm down?!" Halley Pleaded.

"I'll calm down…when this pain goes away."

-

When they arrived at Halley's apartment complex and pulled into her parking spot, Marc quickly got out of the car and dashed over to a 'Starbucks' across the street.

"Marc?! Where are you going?!" She yelled after him, but he ignored her plea.

She walked into her apartment, sat at the dining table, and put her hands over her face.

Ring Ring

She reached over to her left and answered the phone.

"Hello."

"Hello this is Dr. O'Hara. May I speak to Ms. Halley Gonzalez, Please?"

"This is she."

"Well I'm calling about some strange autopsy reports."

"What do you mean?"

"Well all findings on Mrs. Maseon were normal, but Mr. Maseon's was odd. It shows that the blood transfer is what killed him."

"I'm sorry Doctor, I don't understand?"

Well the blood that was transferred was mutated."

"Mutated?"

"Ms. Gonzalez, the donor was a mutant. Your nephew is a mutant."

Her eyes widened and her mouth opened in awe, at this revelation, she dropped the phone. As the phone dangled there, you could hear still the Doctor on the other line,

Ms. Gonzalez, Ms. Gonzalez, Ms. Gonzalez

-

Marc returned a few minutes later with two Cappuccinos.

"Halley I'm sorry about earlier, I just got carried away, it's hard….." Marc started.

"God damn mutie." She mumbled under her breathe.

"What?" he asked, handing her a cappuccino.

"You heard me," she slapped the cup out of his hands, "You God damn mutie!"

"What are you talking about?!"

"The Doctor just called you know what she said?! She said it was your 'mutie' blood that killed your father, my brother! Get out of my house mutant scum."

"Tì a Halley?" He pleaded with tears in his eyes.

-

He quickly grabbed some of his things and headed to a nearby pawnshop. There he pawned the autographed baseballs that his mother got for him along with the watch his father had given to him on his fourteenth birthday as well as other sentimental items.

"Hey! Kid give me that money." A man demanded as Marc exited the shop.

The man looked relatively old, probably in his fifties, though it was difficult for Marc to tell through the man's scruffy ash-white beard and the dirt that masked his face. The man was probably homeless.

"No man, just back off, leave me alone." Marc replied

"Wanna change that answer?" The man unveiled a gun from his coat.

"Shit!" Marc shouted trying to run away but tripped himself up and fell to the ground.

"Okay Kid."

Bang

As the bullet came at him fire exploded from his body annihilate the bullet and catching to the man's beard.

Marc ran off, frightened, as the man panicked to put his beard out.

-

For the next two months, Marc went from sleazy motel to sleazy motel, worrying about how to afford a meal a night. He slowly learned to control his powers to a certain extent, he still could not control some of them though. He learned to forgive himself in part for his fathers death but still considered himself to be a murderer. His parents taught him to always pray…he stopped praying the day they died.

Marc decided that he had to talk to someone familiar…he wanted to talk to someone. It really isn't the best social environment on the streets, so he searched for and found his good friend Bobby Drake's number. He called only to find out that he no longer lives in Boston he lives in a New York boarding school now. He received the number from Mrs. Drake but never used it.

After about two months, his aunt sent the police looking for him. Not wanting to be found, Marc sold all of his possessions except a few pairs of clothes and bought a one-way ticket to New York.

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I added some small parts, changed some words, and added more description…That's what television people would call digitally re-mastered…Please Review.


	2. Motel 666!

Disclaimer: I'm the creator of X-Men! I'm really famous and I have almost limitless money…but I take time to write fan fiction for this site…_by the way I was being sarcastic!_

A.p.R - This is another of the chapters I've re-edited…read it.

Please Review

-----------------------------Let the fan fictioning commence!------------------------------

"Damn, it's cold in here." Marc grumbled, his body shivering, upon entering the cramped hotel room.

The features of the room included: an abnormally shaped bed, an unpleasant looking bathroom, a grimy looking phone, and an evil looking heater. He moved towards the heater and stuck the back of his palm out, he felt no air. Warm or cold. He struggled to with it for awhile before realizing it was broken and the hotel was closed for the night. He had two options: deal with it or to 'repair' it… with his foot. He chose the first one…after failing at the second, besides he was pretty tired from the long flight. So he decided to lie down on the horribly misshapen bed. As he rested his head on the pillow, he thought, "I really should call Bobby." "Tomorrrooooww." He yawned.

__

::::

Marc was standing on a corner of an intersection of an all too familiar city.

His mind ravaged by Pain. Sorrow. Guilt. Anger. Shame. Hate.

He saw his…mother? His father? And himself? In a car? He couldn't remember what was happening, it all seemed so distant.

He knew where he was…and who they were…

But what was going on?

Why was he here?

Suddenly, he realized what was happening. He tried to make then stop, but he could not move. He struggled with all his heart but to know avail he was being held by something. He watched, horrified.

He saw himself, with shards of glass in his face, half way out of the backseat window.

He was forced to watch as his mother's neck snap on impact.

His Father, the blood dripping from his mouth from internal injuries, on the glass filled hood.

::::

"NO!" he screamed as he sat up in bed clammy with tears streaming down his cheeks. This dream wasn't unfamiliar, far from it; he had this very dream before. Every night, every nap, every time he closed his eyes to rest...it was there, forever reminding him.

He rolled to his left, positioning himself on the edge of the bed and rested his head in his hands as he tried to regain his composer. He stood and made his way towards the sink in the bathroom, he ran his hand through his hair then splashed his face with some dirty water from the sink.

"This is your life now, and you deserve every second of it!" He shouted looking fiercely at his replica in the mirror. "YOU!" He roared forcing his fist through the glass. He looked at his fist, scrapped and bloody, and all he could do was watch as it mended before his eyes, "What are you?" He asked his shattered reflection, who offered nothing but silence.

As Marc reached for the phone, and dialed Bobby's school's number. He worried about how Bobby would react if he found out that he was a mutant, Bobby was his only friend now and he needed a good friend at this time.

Through his doubt he managed to make the call, a directory answered and listed quite a few names, each with his or her respective numbers following after. As Bobby's was announced, he quickly pressed the two digits.

::Ring Ring Ring Ring::

"Hmp…hello?" Bobby said breathing into the phone, barely coherently.

"Hey it's me Marc."

"Wow, man it's two in the morning."

"I know I'm sorry it's just that….."

Bobby realized that Marc was sobbing and spoke more attentively. "Is every thing all right? Where are ya?"

"Yeah…Yeah, sorry I'm fine." He said calming himself. "I'm in a Motel 6, about a mile from some school…Bayville High? I think."

"Do you need the Professor to bring me by?"

"Who? Oh, like the Dean, no, but could you stop by tomorrow, I need to talk to someone?"

"Okay I'll talk to the Profe…the Dean. What room?"

"11."

"Take care Marco…dude, get some sleep."

__

::Click::

With that, Marc just moved to the window, sat down, and watched the night sky. Suddenly his senses went wild, he heard, sirens, snores, gunshots not only that but he could…almost smell the gun powder. He tried to concentrate, but his efforts in vain.

Then, as suddenly as they came, it all stopped but he then could only hear the sound of a little girl's whimpers and a woman crying. He looked out the window to see its source. It was, what looked to be, a man wielding a knife stalking towards some people in the alleyway behind his room.

He grabbed a jacket out from his luggage and ran to see what was happening wondering, "Just what, exactly, am I going to do?" He dismissed the thought as he arrived in the alley. He scoped out the scene, a mother, a daughter huddled over an unconscious man, probably the husband.

__

"What's going on here?!" shouted Marc, no response.

He repeated. "I said, what's going on here?!"

This time mugger answered. "Dis don't concern you dawg, get the Hell outta here!"

"HELP!" The woman screamed.

"Shut up." The mugger said as he struck her across the face.

"That's enough!" Marc Exclaimed

The mugger pointed knife at Marc. "I warn' ya boy, naw you in trouble."

The man lunged at Marc, thrusting the blade wildly. He managed to evade a few stabs, though one tore his jacket. Although Marc managed to get in a few blows but they were hardly enough to faze the thug. Marc threw a quick jab but missed; the mugger saw his opening and slashed Marc across the chest. Marc fell to a knee the mugger then drove the blade deep into his thigh.

Marc let out an agonizing cry. "Agrrrrrrr!"

"I've tried to go easy on you," Marc said trying to catch his breath and regain his footing. "You think you're so big with your weapon, don't you? DON'T YOU! Well I've got some news for you. I AM A WEAPON!!!" Marc as a ring of fire surrounds him and random objects catch ablaze. The mugger fell back on his rear end as the ground before him turned to flames.

The mugger pulled another knife from his belt and held it as if to throw.

"Come on tough guy what are you gonna do now? Throw the knife, I dare you. Throw the damn knife!" Marc taunted.

"Y…ya…you're one of them freaks. I'm out of here."

Marc fell to the ground seconds later, and instantaneously the fires extinguish. He pulled the dagger from his leg and tossed it aside as he crawled over to the terrified mother and child; he was hemorrhaging from the leg.

"Are you guys okay?" He asks grimacing in pain.

A scream of terror came from the little girl, "Mommy, keep the monster away."

"Please leave us alone don't hurt us?" The woman cried shielding her daughter.

The man began to regain consciousness. "Get away from my wife you filthy bastard!" He sputtered from his bloody lips.

"No, you don't understand, I just…."

"Go Before I call the cops!"

So he limped off, still bleeding profusely from the thigh. He made his way back to the sidewalk and to his the hotel room. He could barely stumble into the room, his failure to stand, because of the intense pain and the loss of blood, panicked him.

He pulled himself onto the bed, with what little strength he had. He stared up at the sealing, it started to spin and become blurry. He started to slip slowly in and out of consciousness. His sight went white and his heart beat started to slow.

He started to become almost comatose. "Is this how it feels to die?"

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	3. The Morning After

Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men, Charley Brown, Fox Trot, or three members of the Voltron Force.

Please review, I will give you C-a-n-d-y.

---------------------------------------I Like Stories----------------------------------------

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::KNOCK:: ::KNOCK:: ::KNOCK:: ::KNOCK::

"Hello, Hello?" Bobby said as he knocked.

"Are you absolutely sure you, like, got the right room number Bobby?" said Kitty, getting slightly annoyed.

"For the fifteenth time yes, Kitty!" Bobby snapped.

"Well, it was really late when he called Bobby, and you can't remember where you live sometimes." Jubilee giggled

"Not you too Jubes?" Bobby asked rhetorically.

"Well I don't know what kind of friend would call so late and invite you over to not even…." Amara started before the others bombarded her with "Shut up Amara's" by the other three.

-

"How did I?" Marc huffed as he sat up in bed, unaware that he had visitors. He leaped up, not immediately realizing that his leg did not hurt at all. He ran to the broken mirror. He looked as normal as ever, well, without the shredded shirt and jacket revealing a 5-inch scar across his chest and the enormously bloody pants with the hole in the thigh.

-

__

::KNOCK:: ::KNOCK::

"Marc are you in here buddy?" said Bobby flatly.

This time, aware of someone at the door, "Hold on - I'm coming."

When the door opened they saw a tall, muscular, lightly tanned, kind of cute looking (Note: Only to the girls) boy with trashed clothes and blood all over.

"What the heck happened to you Marc?" Bobby wondered.

"Umm…long story." Marc replied gesturing for them to enter. "Welcome to paradise." he said as his guests entered the slummy room.

"What happened to you and your clothes?" Jubilee asked, pointing.

"I had a little accident last night, Nothing big." he replied.

"Are you sure?" Kitty asked and received a look from him declaring, "What did I just say?" "Okay, sorry for being concerned." she stated. Amara giggled to herself in the corner and quickly stopped when she received a glare from Kitty.

"Hey Marco, what's with the free show? The girls are drooling' all over the place, man, put a new shirt on!" Bobby joked only to be met with stiff faces from the girls, and a slight chuckle from Marc.

"See you haven't lost your sense of humor, Bob." Marc snickered "So who are the pretty girls?" he asked Bobby in trying to sound cool, but wound up sounding kind of like a pervert.

"Well, the one in the yellow jacket is Jubilation Lee," he explained.

"Hi, call me Jubilee." she greeted.

"The ditzy one on the bed is Kitty," he continued.

"Bobby!" she screamed.

"And the shy girl standing in the corner staring at the floor is Amara." he concluded.

She looked up and bashfully said, "Hi." blushed and went back to the floor.

"Nice to meet y'all, my name is Marc Maseon."

"We're headed to the mall, want to come along?" Kitty asked spiritedly.

"Um, if you haven't noticed I'm a little messy, if you guys hang out for a little while I could clean up." Marc asked.

"Sure." Jubilee answered.

"Hold on!" Marc said as he paused with sly grin on his face. "Bobby Drake, on a mall crawl, is there something 'different' about you?"

"Shut Up! The only reason I came with them is because Kitty had to drive, the Prof….The Dean." The Girls gave Bobby some strange looks. "Okay. You see I don't have my license yet." Bobby said with a little shame in his voice."

"Whatever? I'm going to hop in the shower and clean up." Marc stated.

"And I think I saw a vending machine outside, so vend I shall!" Bobby announced.

"What are we supposed to do?" Amara wondered.

"Why don't you just read those magazines on the nightstand, they look pretty current." Bobby said making his outrance.

The girls waited until Marc turned the shower on to start so their talking went unheard.

"Look at that leather jacket, that would look so hot on Me." exclaimed Jubilee.

"Do you realize how many cows suffered and were killed to make that?!" Kitty hollered in disgust.

"Besides, you only like it because it's yellow, Jubilee." added Amara.

"Hey, if you didn't melt my pleather one when you went all _Magma_ on it, I wouldn't need a new one." Jubilee reminded.

__

"How 'bout we call it even. You did blast my Social Studies project, besides I couldn't that that slime ball Toad attacked me, I had to burn him." replied Amara

__

"Speaking of slime balls Lance has been a jerk these last couple of weeks, making little dirty jokes about me and all." said Kitty.

"Well you did break his heart when you broke up with him, did you expect him to be your best friend?" Amara pointed out.

"Yeah and…..shhh!" Jubilee cut herself off as Marc exited the bathroom.

"Hey." everyone said at the same time. (A/N: Creepy) 

"I overheard your conversation, are you guys mutants? Not that it matters." Marc asked.

"Did you like, listen to us?" questioned Kitty, with a raised eyebrow.

"I've got good hearing," he answered "sorry."

"Yeah we are." Jubilee answered hesitantly.

"Does…Bobby know?" he asked innocently."

"He's one too. Didn't you know?" Amara answers.

"No." Marc answers.

Bobby enters the room with a mouth full of M&M's

"Hewllow." he says with the tiny candies in his mouth.

"So you're a mutant Bobby?" Marc asked

Bobby's eyes widened.

- To the Mall -

"Girls we'll all meet in the food court when were done!" Bobby yelled to them, sounding like a parent. 

"Whatever!" They replied.

So Marc and Bobby headed through the food court to a bench to talk.

Bobby started hesitantly "I haven't been honest with you, I'm a mutant."

"So am I." Marc added.

"Yeah right, you can't just say you're a mutant, you actually need to have powers, check this out." Bobby demonstrates by freezing a napkin.

"Wow, well but what do you call this?" Marc said, as he looked and concentrated on a nearby napkin and it burst into flames than he extinguished it by blinking.

"Holy crap Marc!" Bobby gasped.

"Told you I was a mutant," Marc replied grimacing "Damn that hurts every time I do it."

"When we are done here I want to take you to talk to someone at the institute." Bobby informed.

"Why, Who?" Marc asked

"Well the institute is a place where mutants learn to control their powers and live normal lives, Professor Charles Xavier he can help." Bobby responded.

"But, your parents said that it's a boarding school?" a confused Marc said.

"That's just what they think," Bobby replied. "How about your parents, Marc, why would they let you come all the way out here alone?" Bobby asked.

"Bobby, my parents are dead." Marc said with a shiver.

"What? How?!" Bobby Exclaimed.

They sat down on a near by bench outside the CD shop and Marc told him the entire story; Bobby was, needless to say, shocked.

"I'm sorry dude, but don't blame yourself man, it wasn't your fault." Bobby attempted to console his friend.

"I know, but it's just hard. That's why I'm here though, to start a new life hopefully."

"Hey we're waiting, let's go." Jubilee shouted.

"It's best to not keep them waiting," said Bobby "Come on I'll tell you more on the way."

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	4. Enter the XMansion

Disclaimer: In your face Marvel! I own nothing! Who's stupid now?!? Ha! Ha! Ha……Shut Up!

**__**

"Reviews" is not a city in China……..Is It?

------------------------------Read or you shall be set aflame---------------------------

After going back to the motel, gathering his things, checking out, and stopping off at a Baskin Robbins, they finally pulled up to the gates of The Institute.

Marc looked out the window to his left and saw some kid playing fetch with a dog, no wait, a girl? To the right there was a game of softball going on, complete with explosions, a light show, a cranky looking man shaking his head, and a sapphire Sasquatch looking thing.

They pulled into the garage, "We're here!" Kitty announced cheerfully, sadly oblivious to the fact that everyone had already exited the vehicle.

"Nice place you guy's got here." Marc said to Bobby as they entered the front room.

Amara and Jubilee scampered off, hoping to join the game outside.

"I'll go tell the Professor about you, I'm sure he'll want to talk to you." Bobby said walking off, "Oh, make yourself at home." he added.

"Yeah, if I don't get lost." Marc thought.

-

"Ororo have you seen he Prof?" Asked Bobby.

"No I haven't Bobby, but last I saw him he was in the library, he looked interested in some Edgar Allen Poe book."

"Thanks."

Bobby, made his way to the library, and greeted the Prof who was deep into "The Pit and the Pendulum."

"Greetings Bobby I sense you've brought a friend." The Professor said.

"Yep." Bobby confirmed.

"Tell me about him."

-

Sam bumps into Marc while walking down the hall, so he started to apologize but then realized he didn't recognize him and said angrily, "Who in the heller you?"

"I'm Bobby's friend." Marc replied cautiously.

"Oh, well nice tah meet yah, bye." Sam said trustingly, and left as suddenly as he came.

"O-k-a-y." Marc whispered under his breath.

Then Marc wandered into the rec-room seeing a red-headed girl alone with head phones on dancing.

"Jean?" he says.

"Who the hell are you?" she yelled turning around to see him.

"Aren't you Jean…I mean, isn't that your name?" Marc.

"Didn't I ask you a question? Who the hell are you?" she shot back.

"Oh I'm sorry, the names Marc Maseon, I'm here with Bobby to see the Professor." he answered.

"Ummm…..sorry about that, I should've read your mind. Yes, Jean Grey that's me, nice to meet you. How did you know my name?" she said a apologizing, and also probably embarrassed to have someone see her having fun.

"Nice to meet you too, Bobby told me earlier." Marc agreed.

"Well…I've got to go help the men out outside, see you around."

Jean left the room, and Marc walked over to the couch and sat down. After a few boring minutes, Scott entered the room looking for Jean, but saw Marc.

"Who the hell are you?" Scott asked aggressively.

"Yeah…I've been getting that a lot, I'm Marc Maseon."

"What are you doing hear Mar…." Scott stopped suddenly as The Professor contacted him telepathically, "Okay, Professor I'll send him in."

This looked incredibly peculiar to Marc, Scott talking to himself and all.

"The Professor wants to see you." Scott announced.

Marc looked at him bizarrely.

"Heh…that probably looked odd to you, Huh? The Professor can contact people through thoughts, he's telepathic."

-

"Nice to meet you Mr. Maseon, I am Professor Charles Xavier." he said as they shook hands. "It has been brought to my attention that you have developed special gifts."

"Yes sir." Marc said.

"Well maybe I can help?"

"How?"

"Just sit still, I'm going to probe your mind to understand how to help you."

Xavier puts his hands on Marc's left and right temples, and reads through his memories like files. He saw everything, Marc's birth, his first day of school, his first kiss, his proudest moments, and his most desperate one's. He saw the accident that changed his life; he felt his pain as his aunt threw him out. He felt the suffering he went through every night as he dreams, he felt the hunger in his gut when he couldn't afford to eat, those days on the street. The rage that consumed him every time he thought of what happened. The thoughts became too much, but he held on to the link as long as he could but…...

"Ahhh!" The Professor yelled in shock.

"So, what did you see?" Marc asked calmly.

"Well…." He started trying to regain his composure. "…I now understand what you mean, but that was a freak accident. You can't blame yourself!" He insisted.

"Why? I did it! But I know that it wasn't intentional."

"No you didn't. It has been forced on you to believe that. All that time you were on your own you had to blame someone and you were the only one you could think to take the blame. Let me help you see? I can help you get your life back to as normal as possible."

"If you can really do what you say you can Professor, okay."

-I'll be guiding you through it telepathically, like so.-

----- 3 hours later-----

- That concludes our session for today -

"Marc how do you feel?" The Professor asks.

"I…I feel. Good?" he said with some shock in his voice. "I fell better than I have in months!" he exclaimed

"Well that's wonderful." a proud Xavier acknowledged. "Now I think it's best for you to go get some sleep and we have much to discuss in the morning. I'll have Bobby show you to one of the guest rooms."

-

Bobby was showing Marc to his room when Kitty came out of nowhere, actually a wall, and ran into Bobby, landing on top of him.

"Just couldn't wait to jump on me, couldn't you?" Bobby cracked.

"Like, grow up Bobby, jeez!" Kitty hissed. "Besides I didn't come here for you, believe it or not."

"I choose to not." Bobby announced.

Kitty shook that off and continued, "So, Marc…um…you wouldn't like to hangout at the mall, like, together, tomorrow, would you?" Kitty said tensely.

"Sure!" Marc said without delay, and than tried to cover up his excitement with, "I mean…sure whatever."

"Great, well, see you tomorrow than," Kitty said and Marc nodded in agreement, "Like, See ya." the brunette finished with a cute smile on her face as she ran 'into' the wall, forgetting to phase through it.

"Oooooo!" Bobby and Marc exclaimed in unison.

She got up, dusted her self off looked at Marc with an innocent smile and walked through it this time. "Nice one Kate, nice." she said under her breathe.

"What just happened?" Marc asked, with a brainless looking grin on his face.

"Well…..she walked into a wall and you just got a date, Marco." Bobby answered. "Don't ask me how, I've been here for a while, and I got nothing." Bobby said in teasing.

-

"Well Marc here we are, there's a restroom over there and the Rec-Room is…"

"At the end of the hall? Yeah I know; I saw that, Jean, girl dancing in there earlier."

"Jean? No way too uptight."

"I'm telling you, I know what I saw."

"Whatever dude go to bed you're delusional. I'm going to make me a sandwich."

Marc just fell onto his bed when he finish putting his stuff away, dead to the world at only 7:30.

That night, no nightmares; no dreams; no interruptions; no anything. This was the best sleep he had in a long time.

-

"Marc would you, noooo! Stupid, Stupid Amara." Bobby over heard through a slightly opened door when leaving Marc's room and headed to the kitchen for a sandwich.

"Marc you me……Arrrrg! That's not going to work!" so the curious little snowman decided to go in for a peak, it was Amara, talking into a mirror?

"I'd love to!" she said.

"What's up?" Bobby said walking in casually.

"Haven't you heard of knocking?!" she screamed going "Magma."

"Chill?! Chill." Bobby calmed, "I think you should know that, um……. Marc and Kitty are going out now."

Amara transformed back.

Long silence

"A…….." Amara tried to reply. "So what? I don't care." a deflated Amara said.

"I just thought…" he started before getting cut off, "Get out!" she yelled royally.

As He left she slammed the door behind him sat down on her bed and hit herself with a pillow groaning.

-

-Hank, meet me at Ceribro, there's something I want you to take a look at.-

-Is everything okay Charles?-

-I…don't know-

-

"Hey, Rogue?" Kitty asked.

Yeah? Watta you wahnt!? Rogue barked, while still sulking over a fight with Remy earlier that day.

"I have a date with Marc tomorrow, so could you, like, let me borrow that peach colored top?" Kitty asked straightforwardly.

"H'eck naw!"

"Awww, come on, Rogue?" Kitty said pouting.

"Wait who's Marc? Doesn't matter, never mind, Weh've been ovah this already, ya can't borrow any thing a'mine anymore?" Rogue reminded.

"But it's not like your gonna wear it, unless that boyfriend of yours plans on getting zapped." Kitty said looking over to Rogue. "Wow, sorry. That sounded, like, ten times meaner than I wanted it to." she apologized noticing her expressions.

"Fahne, whatever, just take it."

"Thanks Rogue…I'm sorry."

-

"Hank do you remember that odd mutant signal?" Charles asked.

"Yes, the one that we thought is a glitch." Hank responded.

"I think I may have found it." Charles said.

"What? Impossible! " Hank said shocked.

"He's going to enroll here tomorrow officially, his name is Marc Maseon."

"Should we get a blood sample?"

"No, we do not want to frighten the poor boy. I probed his mind earlier, hoping for more information; he has been through a lot recently." Charles explained.

"But there was a recent blood sample taken from him roughly the time when the signal emerged." Charles continued.

"I'll get on it immediately." Hank replied.

-

"Wow….That was an eerily long journey to the kitchen." Bobby said.

"What?" Jubilee asked, pulling out some mustard.

"Nothing….. Hey Jubes whatcha making, a bologna sandwich?"

"Yeah, but all we have is Kitty's veg-longna."

"That's where I come in Jubes, you see that container in the crisper labeled 'Jamie's science project keep out'?" Bobby gestured towards the crisper, "That's where I keep my special stash of meats. Who says I don't think?"

"Impressive." Jubes said giggling warmly.

He handed her the box and their eyes locked, they'd both been waiting for this for so long. They had been attached to each other since they met and it was getting so obvious, Jean & Scott before they got together obvious. They leaned in closer to each other, closed their eyes and……………………………………

Bamf

"Iz zhere any…" Kurt paused. "I hope I'm not intruzing on zomething." Kurt said.

"No, nothing." Jubes replied as fast as Pietro.

"Szure, vhatever."

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	5. Registration

Disclaimer: A.p.R. Does not own The X-Men; however, he does own many comics, "OOOH YEAH!"

After consulting my globe "Reviews" is not, a city in China…okay just please review.

------------------------------------I Like To Burn Things--------------------------------

-Marc, meet me in my office.- called The Professor, but unknown to him, Marc was not the best morning person.

"Get out of my head need………sleeeepy." Marc said back to the Prof.

-It is 10:47 you have been sleeping for over 14 hours.- He argued.

-Now get up! Before I have to get Raymond to give you his 'special' wakeup call.-

"Okay, Okay I'll be there soon." Marc replied without a clue as to what the Professor meant but he knew that he did not like the way he said it. Marc rolled of his bed. Onto the floor, face first, "Smooth." he grumbled pulling himself to his feet. He staggered to the dresser, found his tiny bag of clothes, and put them on randomly.

-

He then headed to The Professor's office and as he exited foyer into the rec-room he caught the stares of Rogue, Rahne, and Roberto who were watching a movie.

-

"Hey, who's that guy?" Rogue asked disturbed, as the Mexican boy in the heart boxers walked passed them with a shirt on his neck and one on his waist.

"A donna know, is he wearing three socks on one foot?" Rahne inquire puzzled.

"Hey! I think that's the Marc kid Bobby was talking about." Roberto answered.

"That's Marc?" Rogue said, "Ah don't think Kitty should be the one worrying what she's wearing."

-

"Marc?" The Professor said in bafflement to his appearance.

"Hwelloew." Marc said still sleepy.

"Would you like to get dressed before we start conversation Mr. Maseon?" The Prof replied still shocked.

"Huh? What?" Marc said as if just realizing. "Yeah, sorry about that."

"Well here are your clothes from Arizona along with some other things." Professor said as he presented the items in a black suitcase change in my lavatory."

"How did you get them?" Marc asked walked into the Professor's bathroom to put on a pair of black shorts and a sleeveless orange shirt he found in the bag and removed the unnecessary items on him.

"Well that was actually you aunt's doing, I talked to her and she said that it's fine that you stay here."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Marc muttered through the bathroom door.

"You will be enrolled at Bayville High after the three day weekend, and today you'll be enrolled here."

"Wait I'm going back to school?" Marc asked walking out from the bathroom redressed.

"Yes, I am Mr. Maseon."

"With all do respect Professor, but I haven't been in school for months."

"Yes and that is precisely why you will try twice as hard. What did you expect you would be off school forever?"

"Well…okay, Profess-inator."

"Excuse me Marc? What did you say?"

"I said Profess-inator."

"Why?"

"Cuz saying 'Professor' gets old."

-

"Knock, knock," Bobby verbalized entering Jubilation's room through the open door, "what's up?"

"Oh Bobby?" she quickly shoved something into her a drawer near the bed where she was sitting, "I was just thinking about you."

She grabbed his wrist and pulled him down, so he was sitting next to her.

"Yeah me too, Jubes…um…" he started but was side tracked when his adolescent short attention span caught up with him. He wanted to say something cool and sweet to her like in those movies she likes, but what was she hiding in that drawer? He made a mental note to investigate later, but then he looked back at her and almost melted.

"What Bobby? Spit it out." She egged on.

"What do I say, why didn't I think this out?" he thought as hundreds of thoughts like these were rushing through his head, luckily for him Roberto walked passed the room. "Hey Roberto are you ready?"

Roberto, confused, said, "Ready for what?"

"You know that…thing that we are late for."

Jubes just sat and rolled her eyes as she watched the two go back and forth until Roberto finally picked up on Bobby's hints.

"Oh yeah the thing that we have to go do, don't want to be late Bobby do you?"

"No way, let's go! Bye Jubes."

"I guess some things never change." She mumbled to herself.

-

Marc and The Professor had been talking, about the guidelines of the institute for a while now and Marc was a little conflustered (see A/N).

"Okay Mr. Xavier, let me get this strait; I don't have to pay tuition; I can learn to control my powers; I get to live in a mansion; and I get a generous allowance. How could anybody say no to that?"

"I don't do this for fame and fortune Mr. Maseon; I do it for my dream of a peaceful future for all. Now then, your uniform and allowance are in your new room, and your temporary roommate is Amara."

"Amara? Don't you think that's breaking the 'boy/girl' policy Professor?"

"Yes, well the other half of the institute is being refurbished and the guestrooms are for guests only, besides I read your mind, you have a relationship with Kitty and you're a gentleman."

"Don't let that get out."

"I expect you two to use you best judgments."

"Now then Marc all we have to do is to think of a codename for you."

"Codename?"

"Yes, your X-Man name that you will use while in uniform."

"Um…can I get back to you on that, Professor?"

"Sure, your codename is a very serious matter so hurry."

Marc exited the room passing Logan; they each looked at each other and raised an Eyebrow.

-

"You wanted to see me Chuck?" Logan reminded.

"Yes, a new student has arrived here…"

"So what do you want me to do Charles?"

"If you would allow me to finish, I simply want you to train him Logan he has abilities similar though nowhere near as advanced, as well as some of his own."

"I still have to train the others, I'll be too busy."

"Hank already offered to temporarily sub for you."

"Okay Charles, besides I need a vacation from those kids."

-

"Hey Roberto I'm bored." Bobby said

"Well shouldn't we be doing sometime because you did lie back there?"

"Roberto 'Lie' is such a strong word I prefer the phrase 'To be economical with the truth'."

"Whatever you say but I called it lying, but seriously what should we do?"

"How about we…wait I got's me an idea." Bobby said deviously.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_A/N: Confused Flustered Conflustered. It's my word that I DO OWN._**

Conflustered - to be conflustered. (ex. You are walking down a street and a car falls 3 feet in front of you, you are CONFLUSTERED.

**__**


	6. What's My Codename Again?

Disclaimer: "I don't own X-Men, but I use to." _::A.p.R. runs away crying::_

Hey thanks for the reviews, It's always nice to see them.

----------------------------------------Fiction is Nice--------------------------------------

"Bobby! Get back here you jerk!" "You too Riberto! You're dead!" Jubes and Rahne shrieked.

You see, Bobby decided to give into his curiosity and look inside Jubes' drawer and he found her diary and he talked Roberto into looking through Rahne's, they planed to compare "notes" but they were caught in the act by Jubilation.

"I'll kill you!" Jubilee screamed shooting some firework things at him.

"Lighten up Jubes…… OUCH!" Bobby as he was hit by a blast.

"Eeek!" Roberto screamed seeing Rahne catching up to him now half way wolf.

CRASH

"RAHNE LET GO OF MY LEG!"

-

Marc heard the sounds of shattering glass and muffled screams ringing through the halls as he was entered the rec-room, but just dismissed them and continued in. There, Amara was reading a book; Kurt, Ray, and Jamie were playing on the community X-BOX; and Kitty was typing on her computer.

"Hey!" Marc, trying to get everyone's attention although only succeeded in getting Kitty's who ran over to him.

"Trying to get attention? Watch and learn." She whispered into his ear, just before letting out an ear splitting whistle. It had gotten everyone's attention as well as nearly deafening Marc. "You're welcome." She said.

"I need help coming up with a codename for myself." Marc announce to the group, who of course jumped at an opportunity to have some fun with this.

"So what are yours?" Marc asked "You know to get an idea?"

MultipleboyBerzerkerMagmaNightcrawlerShadowcat!

"Spyke." Evan added just walking into the room.

"Well guys I'm open to any suggestions." Marc said.

"Vhat'z your powver anyvays?" Kurt asked

"The Professor says I'm Pyrokinetic, I also heal fast and have can hear good."

"How 'bout, Pyro-ear-healer-man?" Jamie offered.

"This could take a while." Evan said.

-

In the kitchen, Sam was sitting at the table doing his math homework.

The phone rang.

"Howdy, Xavier residence Sam speakin' how may I help ya?"

"Hello this is Mr. Boucher from the F.O.C.I." A deep voice said.

"F.O.C.I?" Sam asked.

"Yes the Federal Oriental Cookie Inspectors, I'm calling for Scott Summers. It's about the smuggling of fortune cookies from…" Boucher paused to think, "…Mexico."

Sam's eyes widened, "Sounds serious I'll go get 'im…hold on please Mr. Boucher…um…your honor."

"Oh and young man," Dramatic silence, "tell no one."

-

"Firefly?" Ray suggested.

Kurt rubbed his chin. "Nien, zounds a little fruity."

"How 'bout Blazeman?"

"That's Stupid."

"Hey I got an Idea." Kitty proclaimed.

"That's a first Kitty" Evan whispered to Ray.

"Toss me that dictionary next to you 'Mara?" Kitty asked.

Amara tossed it over absentmindedly and fell about five feet from Kitty.

"Whatcha got in mind Kit?" Asked Ray.

"Well," she started as she went to retrieve the book and then walked back to the couch where Marc was, and reclined back with her feet up on Marc, " How 'bout I flip through this dictionary and the first few words I see are, like, his codename." She presented cheerfully.

Everyone agreed.

"O-kay then, let's see. Your code name can be either. . ." she paused to look "Sock o--r Lemur." She declared pleasantly amused.

The room was dead silent for a moment.

"Leemiur pick zhat one!" Kurt howled falling down laughing.

Evan soon joined him after making an inappropriate comment involving a sock, that only Amara was lucky enough not to get.

"Eww Evan!" Kitty yelled throwing one of Marc's shoes at him."

"Ouch Kitty! I was just messin' around." Evan complained after being clocked in the head by a pillow.

"Shall ve try once more?" Kurt asked, still holding his stomach from the laughter.

"Ooh! Ooh! Can I? Can I?" Jamie said with excitement.

"Okay." Kurt said motioning for Kitty to hand Jamie the book.

"Okay how about 'Butt'?" He giggled.

"Come on, get serious Jamie or I'll let Kitty through a something at you at you to." Marc scolded.

Jamie gulped.

"Fireside." Amara stated.

"Wha?" Marc asked.

"The book I'm reading has a chapter called 'Fireside' that should be your name."

"That's got a ring to it, Fyreside (a/n)." Marc publicized walking over and thanking Amara.

"Peace." Marc said after giving Kitty a hug with one arm, then grabbed his bags and joined Amara in going to their room.

Kitty, unaware of his current living conditions, was fuming at the sight of her boyfriend and another girl walking into a bedroom together.

"Hey where are you going!?!?" She demanded crossly.

"To go get dressed. Why?" Marc pointed over his shoulder.

"Aaaaa… Like, I don't know, maybe because you're going into HER room." Kitty said sarcastically.

"Oh! That, The Professor put me and Amara into the same room." He Replied.

"F-i-n-e so I'll meet you at the mall in about an hour." She said still unpleased.

"Cool." Marc said.

"See ya!" Kitty said giving Amara the evil eye.

"So Amara what can you do?" Marc asked as they entered their room.

Amara held out her hand and created a fire orb "That answer your question?"

-

Scott picked up the phone. "Hello Mr. Boucher, I think you have the wrong number sir…" Scott said about to hang up.

"No wait dude…I mean Mr. Summers." The now familiar voice said to Scott.

"Alex?!"

"Yeah, you got me bro, I can't believe that guy fell for that fortune cookie thing."

"I should have known it was you, why did you do that?"

Alex could see the, irritated parent, look in Scott's face now. "I didn't cause any trouble, did I?"

To Alex's surprise Scott gave a little chuckle. "Well except for Sam being paranoid now…I guess not. How's out there?"

"That's what I called about, How'd you like to come out to Hawaii, not this but next weekend?"

"Why?"

"Because your little bro gonna be in his first pro-surf competition!"

"Alex that's great, congratulations man." Scott said enthusiastically.

"So, ya coming?" Alex asked timidly.

"I'll check with the Professor but I'm sure he'll let me go."

"I gotta go my friend took my board again, later."

"See ya."

-

Logan and Xavier were still discussing the situation with Marc, and how it should be dealt with.

"Okay I'll train him, but I won't go easy on him."

"You do understand, Logan, that I want you to 'train' him not turn him into a weapon?" Xavier said trying to emphasize his point.

Logan grunted.

"How about I level with ya Chuck? If I go easy on him for a while, you'll let me decide when I can intensify his training?"

"Only do what is necessary Logan."

"Should I go tell him?"

"Wednesday, Logan start his training on Wednesday."

-

Marc was modeling his uniform, which was several sizes to small, around the room, "So Amara, does this make me look fat?"

"No it makes you look stupid." Amara said trying not to laugh.

"But Amara I can go out and save the world as "Constricted-man," the man who loved too much." He said the last part gasping for air. He walked back into the closet, where they would do their changing for now on, and put his clothes on for his date.

"So Marc how do you know Bobby?" She spoke to him through the closet.

"I met him when I was twelve. I was living in Boston and he went to school with me, and when I moved back to Arizona we still kept in touch." He explained.

"Where're you from?" Marc asked.

"I'm from Nova Roma in the South America." Amara said. "I was a princess there." she added.

"Should I refer to you as 'Your Royal Highness' now?" Marc asked jokingly.

"Yes and you should never ever looked me in the eye, unless I approve of it first." She joked trying to sound like royalty.

Marc emerged from the closet wearing a red sleeveless shirt and baggy black pants laughing, and looked into the mirror rubbing some gel through his hair.

"Goin' sleeveless in the middle of winter, are you crazy?"

"Amara," Marc said turning to her than back to the mirror and flexing, "wouldn't you like to show off a body like this?"

"Whatever."

"See Ya!" He said walking off looking for a ride to the mall.

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(A/N) Fyreside is how I'm spelling it. How do you feel about the codename?


	7. First Dates And Ice Skates

Disclaimer: I got nothin'

Thanks for the reviews everyone! keep them coming please.

"Lucky Charms" are part of a balanced breakfast……by "Lucky Charms" I of course mean reviews and by breakfast I mean story.

-------------------------------------**you'll never get 'em**-----------------------------------

"Hey Scott do you want to go see a movie later? I hear that the new Ben Stiller movie is good."

"Jean you know I would, but you know that if we went we'd just get treated like, well, mutants."

Jean leaned in to kiss him, "Well maybe we can stay in."

"Scott," Marc interrupted, and Jean pulled away, quickly looking towards the wall, "oh hi Jean. Can you give me a ride to the mall, Man?"

"Can't you drive yourself?" Scott ask tilting his head over in Jean's direction a few times.

"Scott is something wrong with your neck," Marc started confused, "oh…OH!"

"Scott, I know when I'm not wanted……So Jean could you give me a ride to the…?"

_Marc flies out the door into a wall_

"Jeez!" He yelled as they slammed a door in his face "A simple 'No' woulda been fine!"

He spotted Jubes but before he could say anything,

"Marc have you seen Bobby?" Jubes asked.

"No. Why?" He questioned.

Jubes said, "No reason." and gritted her teeth.

"He Jubes how old are you?"

"Fourteen." She looked at him confused, and irritated.

"Darn." He whispered and walked off almost.

Marc started wandering the halls aimlessly. He had some odd encounters he was nearly trampled by a werewolf, he met Mr. McCoy who greeted him with some line from Shakespeare that Marc mistook for mind tricks and ran away. He kept searching until he finally hitched a ride with Kurt who was headed there anyways to celebrate the anniversary of his and Amanda's first date.

-

Marc entered the mall and it was so crowded he could barely move. He was already thinking how stupid he was for not asking Kitty to give him a ride and now forgetting to set up a meeting spot. So he once again found himself wondering aimlessly hoping she did not think he had forgotten.

"Damn." He said smacking himself on the forehead.

He looked around once more and there she was a brunette goddess…with a tray of tofu.

He quickly jogged over to her and tried to get her attention, "KITTY!"

She looked around curiously hearing her name, but she only saw the spiky top of someone's head making its way through the dense sea of clustering people.

"Kitty!" He said emerging from the crowd, "We really gotta plan these things out better."

"What do you mean, Marc?"

"Well I can't get my license yet so I had to find a ride here."

"That kinda sucks."

"Well so what do you want to do Kitty?"

"Well, like, I guess lunch." She gestured to her tray, "I was craving some tofu and you weren't here so I got us both some."

"I never had any before but it's like my uncle use to say 'Try everything once'."

They sat down at a table, and Kitty had already started to devour the cubes when she noticed Marc just poking at them with his fork.

"What happened to that, 'Try everything once,' attitude?" she said with her mouth half-full.

"I will I'm just admiring them." He said trying to sound serious.

"Come on; please just try'em, for me?" Kitty asked pouting her lips along with batting her eyelashes; how could he say no to that?

He scooped some up and shoved them in his mouth.

After letting him get the taste of it she asked, "So, like, what do you think?"

"Um," he said choking them down, "you want to know, honestly?"

She nodded. "The weird thing is they tasted exactly how they look, like little white cubes." Marc explained.

"Oh well." she said pointing her fork at him a little disappointed.

"So are you a vegetarian or something Kitty?"

"Yeah totally salads, fruits and veggies stuff like that." She said "And you?"

"The first thing that comes to mind, burgers."

"What?!?!?" She exclaimed. "How can you eat that?!"

Kitty continued to yell Marc winced. "Well this is a new record less than five minutes on a date and already a fight." He thought as Kitty continued.

"Do you know, like, how many cows died for those greasy things?"

"Do you know many tomatoes died for your precious salads?" He shot back.

"What?" she asked, "That made no sense." She said as a smile started to break through her anger.

"No it did not but it stopped the argument." Marc said smiling.

They both shared a laugh.

-

"Yo! Lance ain't that yah girl ova there?" Todd asked already knowing the answer.

"It looks like she found herself a new friend." Freddy pointed out.

Lance did not say a word; his eyes just rolled back into his head.

"Lance you crazy if you do that you'll bring this place down!" Pietro said worried.

"Shut up!" Lance scolded clenching his fists. "I'll be back."

-

"Hey Pretty Kitty." Lance said slickly.

She recognizing the voice "What the heck do you want?"

"I want to know what you're doing here with this loser." Lance asked.

"We're on a date, you jerk!" Kitty said angrily.

"A date?! What about me?" Lance asked.

"How many times do I have to tell you? We're through." Kitty reminded.

"Lance, is it?" Marc said standing up, "I suggest you listen to her."

"Or what you'll punch me? I'm so scared." Lance feigned.

"I'll…" Marc started before Kitty grabbed his arm pulling him in the opposite direction.

"Come on Marc let's get out of here, he's not worth it." She explained.

"Running away huh big man? You know I'll Rock Your World!" Lance yelled after them.

"What? I'll rock your world? Dude that's old, find a better catch phrase!" Marc yell back still being dragged away by Kitty.

"So Kitty was that a jealous idiot trying to win you back with his charm or his catch phrase?" Marc asked as they got farther away from Lance. "Ya know what Kitty I'm sorry I'm not helping things."

"S'okay. He was my kinda-boyfriend for a while until I decided to break-up with him. He was on the bad guy side and I'm a good guy ya know? Then a few weeks ago he started to tell people that I…ya know?" She explained

"Did you?" Marc asked naively, receiving a dirty look from Kitty.

"Of course not! I'm the classic good girl; I only kissed him a few times." She said angrily.

They continued walking through the mall, not saying anything for a while. Marc noticed lot of people were just shooting dirty looks at them, and he just dismissed them because he as just being suspicious.

"Let's not let this ruin our date. Come on there has to be some thing we can do?" Marc asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Well we can't stay here cuza Lance." She said.

"I can't think of anything." He confessed.

"Hey how about we go to the ice-rink?" She suggested, "You skate?"

"You teach?" He asked nervously.

"I can try." She said.

-

"Jubes be reasonable." Bobby begged after being backed into a corner by her and Rahne.

"Bobby the diary!" She snarl holding her hand out.

"Okay, hey why aren't you guys getting him?" Bobby said pointing towards Roberto.

"He stopped running and apologized, a ways back; He also told us th't yae put him up to it." Rahne informed.

"Traitor." Bobby mumbled.

"Bobby how could you do that it was 'my' diary. Sometimes I think I know you but then you do something like this." Jubes said walking away, with what looked like a tear in her eye.

He just stood and watched her. He tried to speak but he couldn't, Tried to make a word, to make a sound. But he could not. He just slid to the floor and watched her walking away, walking away from him.

-

"Size 16 please?" Marc said standing at the rental skates booth.

"Here you are, size 16 only been worn once, enjoy big foot." The old man at the rental booth said as he handed Marc the skates, Marc thanked him and turned to Kitty.

"How long have you been skating?" Marc asked shivering, and suddenly wishing he took Amara's advice.

"Like, my entire life." Kitty said happily.

"So Kitty how hard is this?"

"Not very, watch." She said demonstrating a few tricks.

"That looked great but I'm barely standing over here."

"Get over here," she yanked him onto the ice "Step one: standing."

The expression on his face was that of pure terror as he staggered and slipped onto the ice for a few moments.

"Nice, I didn't know you could do the splits."

"Neither did I." Marc replied grimacing.

She came over to help him up, "Okay Step: two turning."

But Kitty wait, I didn't get step one…" She gave him a shove so he could get going.

"KITTY!" He yelled as his legs crashed into railing, flipping him over and onto some boxes.

Kitty hurried over, "OHMIGOSH! Like, are you hurt?"

"Nothing but my pride," Marc said rising to his feet, "and possibly my spleen."

Kitty sighed in relief.

Marc held his ribs. "Could we just go over there and sit for a while, talk, anything that doesn't involve ice."

"Steps 1-2 hurt, huh?" She asked giggling.

"Very much so." He answered.

"Are you up for a few more? I think you'll like 'em." she teased.

He said straitening his body. "If you say so."

"Listen carefully I'm only going to say this once." She said impishly, turning her back to him.

"Step Three: wrap your arms around my waist."

So he did so slightly confused.

"Step Four: pull me a little closer."

He started to get the picture.

She breathed the words into his mouth "Step Five: kiss me."

Their lips touch each other's tenderly, slow at first but little by little they got the feel of each other and they slowly drifted away from reality.

The two were in that same position; lips locked; and eyes shut; mind glazed over as they gliding across the ice for a few moments.

Marc pulled away. "I liked those steps Kit." He said staring deeply into her eyes.

She smiled. "Thought you would."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well what did you think? Please Review.


	8. High School Sucks

Disclaimer: Shhh…Marvel is watching every move we make.

Please Review.

-------------Warning: this chapter is rated R for school related topics-------------

"Marc school in an hour, hurry up or there'll be nothing left for breakfast." Bobby announced as he entered.

"One word of advice, don't bust in like that. This is Amara's room too." Marc said tying his shoes.

"Oh yeah lucky you, you get to room with a hottie."

"Dude I'm with Kitty."

"Calm down I'm just kidding, Speaking of which you looked pretty happy last night when you and her got home, what happened?"

"I'll tell you later; how're we going to get there?"

"Meet me in the kitchen in fifteen minutes we'll try to hitch a ride with Scott." Bobby said as he started to leave the doorway, "And Marc, be ready once everyone at school finds out you're a mutant things are not going to be pretty."

"Thanks for those encouraging words man." Marc replied weary.

"That what I'm here for."

Bobby headed for the kitchen when Jubes' voice caught his ear and he stopped to listen unnoticed.

"So Kitty how'd last night go?" Jubilation asked stepping into the mirror, in the bathroom next to Kitty who looked at her confused. "With Marc?" Jubes said rolling her eyes.

"It was nice he's a nice guy." she replied but Jubes did not look satisfied with the response and outside the room Bobby tried to keep himself from laughing.

"Come on, Kitty."

"Okay I really like him, we had fun, are you happy now? Like, How'd things go with Bobby?"

"He took my diary."

"Really? I can't believe he'd do that to you."

"I know, I guess I might as well give up thinking he'll change."

Outside, when Bobby heard this, his heart sank. He never thought he would screw things up this bad.

-

"Why am I always lost?!" Marc yelled while looking for the kitchen, "I'm gonna be late for my first day."

-

"Rahne catch!" Sam shouted throwing a book.

"A got it!" as she leapt, in wolf-form, to snare it.

"Watch it Rahne!" Rogue as Rahne clipped her and tore the shoulder of the shirt, "Darn it Rahne, ya tore mah shirt, now Ah gotta t' change."

"Sorry Rogue."

"Tell that to mah math teacher." She mumbled as she headed back to her and Kitty's room to change.

-

"Finally." Marc thought seeing the older girl with brown and white hair, "Excuse me." he said drawing closer to her.

Not paying much attention, Rogue was thinking of excuses to tell her math teacher and could not hear him.

"Hey." he said as he reached out to tap Rogue's, exposed, shoulder to get her attention.

"Hey wait, don'!" she tried to warn him but it was too late, "Argh!"

He was out cold. "Aaa! Mah hands are burning, help somebody, help us!" she cried.

"What happened here?" Ororo said as she walked over to them.

Panting she said, "Da fool tried tappin' me on da shoulder and ah absorbed him."

Ororo started, "Calm down child it's ok…" before being cut off by Rogue,

"He'll be fahne but what am ah supposed at do," she through her hands in the air and a stream of fire blasted out and set a curtain on fire, "what the hell? Sorry."

Storm created a miniature storm cloud and douse the flames "Just try to not to do that again."

-

"Hurry up this is my last call for rides!" Scott as he honked his cars horn.

Bobby jumped into the back seat and looked around only Jean and Evan were in the car, "Hey where's Marc? He wasn't in the kitchen." they all shrugged unknowingly.

"He'll have to get a ride with Ororo or Ki…" A high-pitched cheer cut off Scott; it was Kitty driving some of the other students in the X-Van phasing them through the gate, "tty…or just Ororo." He refined.

-

"Is he gonna be okay?" Rogue said gesturing to Marc who was now lying on a couch, still unconscious.

"I'm no a doctor but I know that your absorption powers don't last long." Ororo replied, Rogue still had an uneasy expression on her face. "What's wrong, Child, what is it?

"It's nothing, it's just…nothing."

"Okay but if you every need to talk you know you can always come to me."

"Thanks Ororo, but I'm fahne."

"Argh…what hit me?" Marc asked groggy, as he slowly regained consciousness.

"Oh good you're awake," Ororo called, "You should be careful."

"Marc ya can't touch mah skin Ah can absorb people's powers an' memories!"

He sighed ruefully. "I know that now!" He snapped holding his head.

"It's not mah fault ya snuck up on me!"

Ororo shook her head. "Rogue! Marc! Stop it this instant! Rogue you go change you shirt and meet Marc and I in the X-jeep."

-

"I'm new here could you show me around?" Marc asked other students after receiving his class schedule; however, no one was paying much attention to him. One student even pushed him into blond guy who was talking with a girl.

"Watch out dumb-ass! What do you think you're doing?!" He said changing his attention from the girl to Marc.

"Sorry man the Name's Marc, I'm new and…" Marc stopped as five other guys surrounded him.

"Oh I see you're new here." Duncan snapped.

Rolling his eyes Marc said, "How'd you guess?"

"The name's Duncan and if you know what's good for you you'll remember to never mess with me again."

Marc straightened up and stared him in the eyes, still wary of the others. "Or what D-uncan?"

Duncan met this with a cocky smirk. "You're new so I'll let this go, this time, come on guys." Dunc's crew looked confused but followed anyways.

The bell rang and the halls cleared, Marc had to ask the janitor for directions to his first hour.

-

Marc was bowled over. A few months off from school and it felt like he went from Geometry, already not his favorite, to Advanced Astrophysics or something. He had gnawed his eraser to the metal and probably would have chewed it all, if the bell did not ring when it did. Lunch finally

-

Jubilation was, sitting alone at the lunch table, twirling her spork around in the cafeteria's spaghetti surprise. She made it a point to be early to lunch. Even though she hated the food. It was just that sometimes she needed the time, no matter how little it was, to think; at the institute, she was constantly around everybody, no time to herself. She loved them like family but sometimes it was too much, like last night with Bobby.

Marc sat down across to her. "Hey Jubes."

She continued picking at the meal, without noticing him.

"H-e-l-l-o Jubes," He said waving his hand in front of her face, "anybody home?"

Jubes mind zoned back in. "Oh hi Marc, sorry I was just thinking about…never mind."

Marc did not seem convinced. "You okay?"

"Yeah fine. So how goes the first day?"

"It could've been," Marc saw Bobby over her shoulder, "hey Bobby!"

Jubes stood up upon hearing his name.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Bobby said; Jubes walked off as he sat.

Marc shook his head. "Cold."

Bobby nodded.

"What did you do Bob?"

"I…don't want to talk about it." Bobby replied just before being plucked out of his seat.

Duncan's friends tossed Bobby aside. "Get lost mutie!"

"What are you doing hanging with this freak, not to mention he's a freshman?!" Marc

Marc slammed his tray on the table. "Is something wrong with mutants, Dunc?"

"Why…hey you're one of them aren't you?"

Marc stood up. "So what if I am?"

Duncan to his buddies, "Let's show him what Bayville High thinks about Mutants."

Two guys grabbed Marc's arms, but Bobby kicked one of their legs out allowing Marc to get free. He was about to throw a punch when Principal Kelly entered.

Kelly took a quick glance around. "What is the meaning of this?!"

Duncan swiftly scooped some sauce and applied to his face.

"Mr. Kelly those mutants attacked." He said with his hand to his jaw.

"Is this true boys?" He said crossing his arms. "You're a new student; well don't think you're getting off easy. Here at Bayville make examples of new mu…students."

Marc couldn't believe what he was hearing, "No they…"

"Save it! To my office now!" Kelly demanded. "Mr. Mathews see the nurse."

-

In the office, Bobby and Marc were sitting staring at the floor.

Bobby looked at Marc. "Just like o'l times."

Marc chuckled.

"Bobby Drake?" The receptionist called, Bobby stood, "The Principal will see you now."

"Be strong." Marc whispered, Bobby gulped.

The door behind Marc opened. "Well, well, well, looky what we got here, it's an X-geek."

Marc rolled his eyes.

"What's wrong Marc, Kitty got your tongue?" Lance said taking a seat next to Marc.

"Lance, what's wrong with you? Kitty and I are going out! You have to let that go, besides you think you're aren't helping things by telling people she slept with you."

Lance looked angry. "What are you talking about?"

"Lance? The rumors you've been spreading?"

"Hey I care for Kitty, I would never do that!" Lance shot back. "Wait I'll bet Pietro and Todd bet he had something to do with this."

"I see you're here again Mr. Alvers," The guidance counselor said calling Lance into his office.

Lance shot a look at Marc, but before he could do anything Bobby exited the principal's office. "Marc the…" He waited for the door to shut, "idiot is waiting."

"How'd it go?" Marc asked already knowing the answer.

"It went fine except for the anti-mutant references, the slander, and the hate talk."

Marc put his head down, "Well you warned me about this." and walked into the office.

-

"Well Mr. Maseon your transcript says you're one of Xavier's troublemakers." Kelly stated, he could have sworn that Marc said something under his breathe.

"Aaa, sir aren't you going to ask my side of the story?"

"Yes I would like to here what possessed you to attack several students."

Marc sighed; this was going to be a long day.

-

After school, Bobby waited for Jubilation by her locker. This time things were going to be different; he was ready for her. That was if she ever got there.

He faced her locker. "Just think before you speak." He thought and slammed his head into it. But a loud popping sound snapped him out of it.

"What, are you trying to steal my homework too?"

He turned to see Jubes with a piece of gum between her lips. "Oh God it's her," He thought, "What do I do?!"

Jubes, now irritated, "Ahem, could you move please?"

"Oh high Jubes," He blurted, "can we talk?"

Jubes shook her head. "What's there to talk about?"

Bobby took a deep breath. "Jubes listen, when I do and say those stupid things I don't really mean them. I want you to know that." He put his hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off.

He continued. "Yesterday I came to talk to you about the night before, but since I screwed that up here goes nothing." He again took a long breath.

"I always wanted to be the one who caught your eye in a crowd. The one who always said the right thing, and knew how to make you feel better when you're sad. Ya know. You are the most perfect girl I know, believe me I know. Because no other girl has ever made lie awake at night and wonder what you're gonna wear the next day," She started to blush, "or thinking of ways to get a whiff of your hair. Or how I can get you to share that intoxicating little smile of yours."

She tried not to let her laugh show but he caught it and smiled. "That's the one." He said gesturing towards her grin. "Basically Jubes I want to tell you I…" He did not get the chance to finish, but he didn't mind. Jubes pushed him against the locker, pressing her lips to his.

They both pulled away trying to catch their breaths. "So Jubes does that mean you forgive me?"

"What do you think?" She said with an impish gleam in her eye.

Just then, Marc walked out of the main office.

Holding his head. "That was horrible; he is one of the most infuriating men I have ever met."

"Wow you were in there the entire day?" Bobby was stunned.

"Yep, even the extra fifteen minutes after school, I seems he blamed me for most of it." Marc looked at the couple, Jubes still with an arm around Bobby, "Looks like you two made up nicely." The pair blushed.

"So how do we get home?" Marc asked.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	9. Training Day

Disclaimer: We didn't hurt any animals and neither should you.

Thanks for the reviews, any suggestions or ideas are welcome.

Please Review

----------------------Shut up and eat your cheese sandwich!-------------------------

Amara's alarm went off. "Hey it's four o' seven in the morning and this is Whisker-biscuit Willis for 101.5 KFOH The Real, and I wondering who many celebrities are mu…" Amara's fist pounded on radio until it was off as she hesitantly got out of bed.

Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she noticed Marc was still asleep, she sat in bed and for a few moments just looking at him. "Is it wrong to like him, he is your friends boyfriend." She quickly dismissed the thought, walked over to him, and shook him, "Marc…Marc, get up, you don't want to be late for you first day of training do you?

Marc opened his eyes slowly, smiled as he saw Amara's face. "G'morning" he said sleepily climbing out of bed.

"What're you smiling at?" She asked warmly.

"You're a lot better to look at than Bobby." He replied.

"Thank you," Amara said confused, "I guess?"

"Bobby woke me up yesterday, so he's the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes."

Amara laughed, "Scary." Marc agreed.

-

In the hall, Amara and Marc joined up with the others to go to their training course.

"So what are these training sessions about?" Marc asked.

"Usually they're pretty tough…" Roberto started, "But now Beast's teaching." Jubes finished his sentences.

"Aye, he's much easier then Logan." Rahne said.

Marc was confused. "Who?"

"Yeah he's a real hard ass." Ray added and they all had a laugh, except Marc who was still in the dark.

"This Logan guy seems like a real SOB." Marc said.

"Ahem!" A ruff voice called, "Where's Fyreside?"

"Who's this guy?" Marc whispered.

Bobby cupped his hand to Marc's ear. "That's Logan."

Marc gulped. "Yeah that's me, did I do anything?" He said cautiously.

Logan thought for a second, "No not that I know of yet kid, come with me."

Marc pointed towards the others, "But I have got to…"

Logan growled. "I wasn't asking."

Ray was trying not to crack up. "He's screwed."

-

A Turret appeared next to Rouge. "Roll!" Scott yelled.

She rolled, just before Scott's optic blast wrecked it. "Waited 'till da the last second Cyke?" She said angrily.

The danger room was on "Danger Level 7" as suggested by Cyclops, who thought the exercises were getting too easy. And much to the dismay of the others, he decided it without consulting them.

"Scott, thiz iz a good idea how?!" Kurt mocked, as he was almost hit with a mace-like sphere.

Jean overheard the argument as she was using her powers to shield Spyke as he was attempting to take out a few mech-arms. "Could you save the heckling for later," Something caught her eye. "WATCH OUT KITTY!" She cried and took her attention away from Evan who was now vulnerable and was struck by a swinging horizontal pillar.

Kitty phased herself through the oncoming tentacle. "Thanks Jean."

"Yeah, Thanks Jean." Evan Grumbled, rubbing his head.

-

"Where are we going?" Marc asked as they walked through the corridors.

"Outside."

"It's v-e-r-y cold out there?"

"I'm trainin' you so what I say goes."

"Yes my master." Marc, to himself.

Logan gave him a stiff glare. "SOB, huh?"

Marc rubbed the back of his neck and flashed a nervous grin. "So you heard that?"

"Yep."

"Oh…is that why we're going outside?"

"Yep."

-

Hank McCoy stood facing the group of new recruits who were in the underground training center. "Since Wolverine is busy I'll be," He paused and scanned the group before him, "Iceman, Jubilee pay attention!"

The new couple still was chatting until Ray elbowed Bobby in the ribs. "Oow what did you do that…oh Sorry Mr. McCoy?"

"Please listen for now on?" They all nodded, "That's better, today we will be working on foot work and agility."

All of them groaned simultaneously.

"Ah man, not those stupid 'tire drills' again." Ray protested.

"No Berzerker, Soccer."

Roberto's face suddenly lit up. "Sweet."

-

"It's starting to snow." Marc announced as he was stretching.

Logan just growled.

"Ok-a-y?" Marc mumbled to himself.

Logan directed Marc to the course. "This is your first run through so I'll go a little easier on you. Get ready."

Marc shook his head rapidly. "Wait I don't know what to do."

"Three."

"Logan?"

"Two."

"Wait?!"

"One"

"What?!"

"Run!"

-

"Hustle people, keep moving." Hank said with his hands on his hips, "Jubilee stop tickling Iceman; Cannonball stop getting tangled in the net; Sunspot pass the ball!"

"Okay Coach!" Roberto said as he flipped the ball with his feet to Berzerker, "Ray catch!" The ball hit Ray in the head.

Beast heaved a sigh. "At least they aren't using their powers."

Just then, "Ahh Multiple!" Ray roared holding his leg. "You kicked my shin you little."

Jamie gave an rueful smile, "Oops?"

Ray Growled and blasted Multiple, causing several Jamies to be launched in every direction, including at Beast.

Beast, on the ground now, picked the clone off his chest. "I spoke to soon."

-

"How much longer?!" Marc panted.

Logan looked at his stopwatch. "Thirty seconds!"

Marc let out a relieved sigh. "Finally."

Then out of nowhere, three sandbags came at him. The first hit him in the back; the next nicked his arm; and the last hit him in the…let us just say he was not wearing a cup.

"Shh!" Marc grunted doubling over.

Logan smirked. "Time! Nice run kid."

"Really?" Marc asked shivering lying face first on the cold snow.

"Nope. What's wrong kid, you cold?"

"Yeah when it's cold my body hurts."

"Well get used to it, Come on lets go."

Marc moved to his feet. "Where we going? Inside? Are we done?"

"Yes and in your dreams." He answered his questions in order.

-

Marc walked into his room and plopped on the bed. He had been pounded, prodded, smacked, slammed, bruised, battered and sliced. He turned to look at Amara's clock, moaned, "Six Thirty-nine.", and fell asleep.

-

"Marc get up!" Amara yelled from across the room.

"It feels like I have only been sleeping for a second." He thought and looked over at the clock again. "Six Forty." He pulled the covers over his head and mumbled something.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	10. Chapter 10: The Tenth Chapter

Disclaimer: This chapter was written by or under the supervision of untrained idiots. Please do not try this at home.

Please Review

--------------Friends don't let friends play 'Dance Dance Revolution'------------

In the hall, Friday, after school, Sam was pacing about. Earlier in that day, he heard a girl talking about how her little brother was saying there is a mutant he likes. But she likes an older mutant. Okay, Sam was not very fluent in girl talk, but from what he could tell it translated into, _"Mutants Blah Sam and wolf Blah Blah Blah likes him Blah kinda Blah Adam Sandler."_

"Whoa Sam stop moving around you're making me sick." Roberto cracked holding his stomach.

Sam could not understand his calmness. "I can' Roberto I think Rahne likes me!" He barked.

"So she likes you, it's not like you didn't already know." Sam blushed, Roberto looked at him as if he was an idiot, "You did know, didn't you?"

Sam had never thought of Rahne in that way before or he wanted to believe he had not, Sam's face scrunched up. "How was I s'posed at know?!"

"Maybe because she's always hanging around you!" He shot back.

"Well I ain't good at thangs like that!"

"Why are we still yelling?!"

"I don'!" Sam caught himself, "I don' know."

"Everything's going to be fine because, hey you got the love machine on your side."

Sam looked surprisingly relieved. "Well what should I do?"

"Ask her out hay-brain!"

Sam was biting his nails now. He had to play things cool or else Roberto will find out that he had never, really, had a girlfriend. He had to put this delicately, "How?" Dang it!

Roberto smirked. "You've never had a girlfriend before." Sam nodded to confirm it, "Just leave everything to me Sammy."

-

"Kit wait up." Marc said putting his arm around her.

She looked at him unsettled. "Hey what's up, I haven't seen you a lot this week?"

"Hold on a sec." He turned her so they faced each other and gently kissed her. "Sorry I've missed you a lot, it's just Logan has been pushing me so hard these last few days."

She covered her laugh with her palm. "Whiner."

Marc laughed. "What?"

"Marc, you'll get used to it in a week or so."

"How long did it take you?"

She whispered something incoherently.

"What?"

She blushed. "Three weeks."

Marc grabbed her arm softly, "Hey, do you want to go out to eat this weekend?"

"Yeah I, like, have no homework, yeah."

Marc reddened. "Can you drive?"

-

As Kitty pulled up to the front of the institute, Ororo did the same carrying the younger students in the X-Jeep.

Roberto nudged Sam, as Rahne exited the other car. "Dude now's your chance, go."

Sam was still hesitant. "I'm not sure about this 'Berto."

Roberto rolled his eyes. "To bad!" He said as he pushed Sam out of the car into Rahne knocking her over.

"Watch where you're going," She said collecting her stuff and she looked up, "Oh hi Sam."

Sam smiled nervously. "Yeah sorry, let me help you with that?" He knelt down to pick up her stuff but head-butted her.

"Ouch that smarts!"

"Aye."

They spoke in unison. "Sooo."

"Do you want to go…" They both said, laughed.

"You first, okay." They said.

"Would you…" In unison again.

"Go ahead?" Gestured at each other.

"Would you go out with me?" They said in in unison once more.

They stood there, outside the mansion, locked in an awkward silence.

She was the first to make a move. "Absolutely."

"Cool." Sam's faced flushed.

"Aye." She said with her hands locked behind her back.

-

"They talk too much." Marc said with a smirk to Roberto.

Kitty had a glassy look in her eye. "Oh it's so sweet." She ran over to Rahne and started to drag her off, "You two can come with Marc 'n me, a double date it'll be fun."

Roberto snickered at Marc.

You could still hear Kitty jabbering at her. "Okay I'll give you a makeover and help you pick out clothes, this is gonna be the 'best very first date' you ever had."

"Poor Rahne." Roberto said as he walked over to Sam and they walked off to prepare.

"Poor Rahne?" Marc thought, "Poor Sam."

-

Roberto, the self-proclaimed ladies man, was instructing young Samuel in the fine art of courting. "So here's how you can get her to Makeout with you."

Okay maybe not.

"No offense man, but I'm not really sure if I could do that." Sam said.

"Okay fine we'll move on, you can't wear those raggedy old pants."

Sam looked at his pants. "What's wrong with my pants?"

"Are you kidding, they look dirty and you have, like, eight pairs of them."

A knock at the door broke up their conversation. "Who is it?"

Marc came into the room with a burrito in his hand. "Hey I came to talk to Sam about the date thingy." He said taking a bite of the burrito.

"We're discussing what he should wear." Robert announced.

Marc shrugged. "It better be nice 'cause we got a reservation at this fancy new place...its fancy."

"Is it that new restaurant?" Sam asked, "Ah heard that that place is really steep, how we going at pay fo' it?"

Marc smiled. "I'll pay; I don't spend money very often because I don't have a reason to so I still have my full allowance."

"Can I help pay, it just doesn't feel right lettin' ya do it y'know?

Marc shook his head. "Hey man this one is on me; I know how tough it is to have your first date."

"Thanks."

"Hey Marc," Roberto started, "do you have something Sam could wear?"

"Umm, I do have this thing I wore for my grade school graduation; I'm not sure why my Aunt sent it though."

"Then bust it out, Marc." Roberto said rubbing his hands together.

-

Kitty was digging through her closet to find the 'perfect' outfit for Rahne, "Have you ever thought of wearing your hair down?"

"Well actually I…" She tried to reply but was cut off by Kitty.

"How do you like this?" She said emerging with a blue strapless dress in her hand.

"Umm…" She tried again.

Kitty tossed the dress over her shoulder. "Me either, you could use some eye shadow."

Rogue who was lying on her bed trying to read, she gave Rahne a look that told, "I have to live with this."

Rahne sighed and left the room to find something to chew on; she figured that Kitty could handle things.

-

Amara and Tabitha hit the mall the second school was out. Literally, Tabby drove into the loading area of the mall, but she did not care. It was Lance's Jeep.

Tabby was talking a bout her life after the 'X-dweebs' as she so eloquently put it. "It's so awesome not having anyone to tell y'what to do, and how to act."

Amara shook her head. "I don't understand how you get by on your own Tabs."

"Well I have to work my butt off as a stripper at the "Boom-Boom Room" just to make ends meat."

Amara paled and could feel a lump forming in her throat.

Tabs could not keep a strait face any longer. "HaHaHa!" She bellowed, "That's a classic."

Amara shot her a livid look that just made her laugh even harder. "What are you laughing at?!"

"That…look…your face…hilarious." She said while gasping for air. "You really think I'd do that?"

Amara tried to hide her embarrassment. "I..Well..No."

-

"Looking sharp Sammy." Marc commenting on Sam's new look.

Sam was still unsure, "Y'really think so?"

"Yeah Sam, or should I call you the ladies killer?" Roberto commented.

Sam smiled. Maybe he could pull this off after all.

-

"So 'mara any new boys in your life." Tabitha asked devilishly.

Tabby noticed Amara's sudden change in attitude after her comment and continued to pry. "Come on if you don't tell you know it'll only make things worse."

"Okay." Amara reluctantly agreed. "There is this one guy…"

"Hey guys!" What looked to be a bunch of boxes called from across the mall. "Amara, Tabitha wait up?!"

Tabby squinted hard and recognized who it was. "Sparkler long time no see?"

Jubes set her bags down as she stopped to greet them. "Hey Tabby I haven't seen you in forever, what brings you out here?"

"Amara was just about to tell me about this guy she's got the hots for."

Jubes squealed. "This sounds juicy, I'm in."

Amara winced. "Hey look it's a sale." She started to walk towards an arbitrary store to avert the conversation, but was restrained and dragged back by them. There was clearly no escape. "I'll tell you--but you guys have to promise not to tell anyone?"

Jubes tried to negotiate an agreement, but in the end, they both agreed.

Amara spoke to the ground, "I like this guy his name is…"

Tabs looked at her confused, "Speak up sweetie."

"I like (Incoherent Mumbling)."

"Amara!"

"Okay I, kinda, sorta, like Marc."

The one time Jubes promised to not release gossip into the general public; it could have been the biggest news since she announced that Roberto wore makeup. He said it was just to create the handsome gleam on his Adonis like face, his words not hers, but that is a story for another time.

Tabby put a finger to her lip. "Who's Marc?"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	11. What Could Go Wrong? 1of2

Disclaimer: Mmm……Disclaimer.

Any questions, comments, concerns, suggestions, about this story please help let me know it can only make the story better.

---------------------X-Men! X-Men! Save the day! Save the day!-------------------

"Today's da day." Sam said rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Shut up Hayseed!" Roberto grumbled slightly conscious, "(Incoherent gibberish)."

-

"Logan, it's Saturday, you gonna go easier on me?" Fyreside asked getting stretched for the course.

Logan smirked "Yeah and I'm even going to give ya the day off."

"Really!" Marc almost jumped.

"No"

"Aww."

-

Rogue had to clear her mind, so staying at the institute was clearly not an option. She had been at the library since it opened; it was the only quiet place that she could think of. She began to look for a new book.

"Maybe I'll try something new?" She though as she glanced at a pink and purple colored book. Upon pulling the book out of it's shelf she notice a face smiling back at her from the other side. It was Remy…as usual.

"Cajun?!" Rogue scream, stomping her foot.

The librarian gave her a sharp took and pointed to a sign. "Shhhh!"

After apologizing she turned to look at Remy, he was gone.

-

Marc came sprinting in after completing the course. "I think that's my best time."

"Yeah it was kid," Logan said walking over to a computer panel, "hold on."

"What're ya doing?" Marc huffed trying to catch his breath.

"Well kid, this is a little too easy for you, I'm putting some new information in to throw ya some curves."

"Gee that sure is nice of you…" Marc stopped when he heard Logan's claws, "kind sir whom I have the utmost respect for."

"Ready…GO!" Logan caught Marc off guard, and he started to run but slipped.

The course stared out the same. Except for the addition of Frisbee like razor blades! He dodged the first wave and the second he melted but that only caused globs of molten steel to come at him.

"This isn't fun Logan!" He mocked after barely escaping.

"It's not meant to be."

"…"

-

"Set it up!" Roberto said to anyone who would listen.

Jubes did so and then Rob spiked the ball.

"Point!" Beast blew his whistle, Rahne tilted her head.

Everybody on Roberto's team moved to him and celebrated.

"Ey Roberto?" Sam tried talking through the mess of people, "You're still goin' ta help me raght?

"Yes." Roberto replied, "Now get ready, it's their serve."

"But Rob?"

"Sam turn around!" Roberto pointed.

He turned to see Rahne in the air, spiking the ball.

__

::FWACK::

Bobby put his hands on his face. "OH NO! Now Hayseed will never be a teen model."

-

Rogue thought she was going crazy, "He was here a minute ago...wasn't he?"

She returned to the reading area of the library, with her newly chosen book 'Big Trouble' sure it was not what she was used to but at least it wasn't so… pink.

As she opened the book, from it fell a card, his card, the queen of hearts.

Reaching to the floor to pick it up, she felt a swirl of emotions. Remy liked her, this she knew. But why? Why would a man with the ability to charm any woman in the world, be after a little gothic girl as herself.

She was not sure, but she felt safe with him. Of all people, it had to be him. The enemy.

"Damn you Cajun." She whispered to herself.

-

Roberto and Bobby were trying to console Sam. "Come on, it's not that bad."

Sam removed the bag of ice revealing a black eye. "Ya think soh?"

Roberto winced.

"Dude, why did you lie to him?" Bobby whispered loudly.

"How can ah go out lookin' like this?"

"I got an idea." Roberto declared.

"No Makeup." Bobby quickly snapped.

"What was that, a year ago?" Roberto shot back, "Let it go!"

"It was two weeks ago week!"

Roberto sighed. "Details, details."

"Soh what's yo' plan?" Sam asked Roberto.

"Never mind."

-

Reading was the furthest thing from Rogue's mind right now. For the last fifteen minutes she had been sitting there, neglecting the exciting world that is 'the library on a Saturday morning.'

Remy just had that, kind of, effect on her. He was so open with her yet so cryptic. She always felt bad, and angry, after they talked. It seemed like every time they did it ended up in her yelling and him either running from someone or taking the abuse.

She found herself staring at the card he had left. The last they talked it was exactly like that. She was mad with him because he would not leave her alone; she remembered telling him that it would never work between them, or he should just give it up. But he, of course, would not.

She kind of like him, but he always was in and out of her life.

-

Marc spotted Scott as he wobbled into the house.

"Hey Marc, you look like death, did you piss Logan off or something?"

Marc said doubled over. "Yeah I really need to keep my mouth shut."

Marc remembered something Kitty wanted him to ask Scott. She wanted him to ask, and for some reason not mention her, if he could borrow Scott's car.

Marc straightened. "Hey do you think we could borrow your car for Sam, Rahne, Me and K…"

"You and Who?'

"Don't say Kitty. Don't say Kitty. Don't say Kitty." Marc repeated in his head.

"Me and…Jamie?" Marc said the first person to come to mind.

Scott, shocked, replied, "Jamie?"

Marc sighed and walked away. "Ya…you know what, Forget it."

-

"Kitty I…um…couldn't get Scott's car for tonight." Marc said cautiously.

"Aww man," Kitty whined, "oh well I guess we can take one of the Corvettes."

Marc's mouth hung open. "Wait…you're saying we have Corvettes here?"

-

Still staring at the card, she noticed that there was something scribbled on the back. It read, '_Chere_, sorry about before. Remy come see you soon.' Yes, he even wrote in third person.

That is what she never figure out, how could his feelings be expressed so easily in just a few simple words.

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My first ever attempt at Romy, sorry if you don't like it. But it's new to me, writing wise.


	12. What Could Go Wrong? 2of2

Disclaimer: The following disclaimer is a disclaimer of a disclaimer, which was previously disclaimed…Please hang up and try again.

Thank you all for the reviews.

--------------------------Everybody Shut Up And Dance!-----------------------------

Marc could not talk Scott into letting them use his car, so instead they drove the blue Corvette. This was not really that bad in the first place. They parked and then strolled in.

"Maseon, party of four." Marc announce to the waiter.

"Let's see, Maes, McCay, Milo, here it is Maseon." The waiter said, scanning through the reservation book. "Right this way."

"Well that was easier than I though it would be." Marc whispered to no one in particular, the group stared at him, "You know, us being…mutants."

"Well what'd you expect, Human and Homo-superior sections?" Kitty joked.

Kitty gestured for Sam and Rahne to go first and the waiter seated them. Marc started to walk on but Kitty stopped him. "Wouldja look at them?" She said pointing at them.

"What do you mean Kit?"

"They look like they're having a great time."

-

At the table, Rahne and Sam just sat there.

Rahne pointed to his eye. "I'm sorry about that."

"S'okay." Sam replied flatly.

-

"Yep they're partying it up." Marc said cynically.

"Be quiet." Kitty demanded, "Let's join them."

-

"Hank, how are the training sessions going?" Logan asked, as he stuck his head into the refrigerator.

"Oh it's going well." Hank said, "The kids are having fun and-"

"They're havin' fun?" Logan growled, exiting the fridge with one of Ororo's famous cheesecakes.

Hank was surprised at this question. "Well yes, they are."

Logan set the dessert on the counter. "Why?"

"Well I believe by teaching making it fun the recruits will learn more."

"Has it worked?" He said as he unsheathed one claw and sliced a piece.

"Well no, but I think it's about to."

Logan smirked. "Yeah sure. Well make sure and tell 'em that the first day I get back they're gonna cry."

"Well then Logan I'll make sure they have extra fun from now on." Hank sassed.

Logan snarled. "Your five o' clock shadow's comin' in."

"Violence in the voice is often only the death rattle of reason in the throat." Hank said looking very smug.

Logan looked at him, squinted angrily, and then took his leave.

-

The four mutants, now all seated at a table, were listening to Marc who was telling a story about Bobby.

"So Me and Bobby take these two hot girls…" Kitty gave him a murderous look, "But nowhere as hot as you." Marc said patting Kitty's hand; she gave him a sarcastic smile. "Anyway where was…I oh yeah-"

Sam looked at Marc telling the story; he noticed how every time he looked at Kitty he had this little twinkle in his eye. He wanted that with Rahne, he began run through everything Roberto told him to do. He though he had them all memorized, but one look at Rahne basically erased that. How she looked in that green dress, how it showed of her legs. He eyed her, innocently, from her brown high-heeled shoes, to her beautiful smile, to her eyes…

"Oh Mah God she's lookin' at me!" He thought, "What do I do? What do I do?"

She giggled and grabbed his hand.

"…and then the ventriloquist was like, 'where did that clown come from?!' And than Bobby said, 'How am I supposed to know, I was looking over there.' We shared a good laugh after that."

As if he were yawning, Sam tried to put his arm around her but elbowed her in the neck.

"Sorry." He smiled apologetically.

"It's okay." She said scowling.

"Are you ready to order?" The waiter asked.

Sam recalled Roberto saying how to handle the ordering.

Kitty ordered first, "I'll take the Cesar salad, with a baked potato, please."

Marc nodded at Rahne for her to order next. "Aye, I'll have-

"We'll take the…ah…" Sam realized that he hadn't even glanced at the menu yet so he quickly peaked at it, "the Fugu-sashi?"

The waiter rolled his eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Yep." Sam said without hesitation.

Marc gave him a conflustered look and proceeded to order. "Yeah I'll take the cheese ravioli with vegetarian sauce, please."

"Your dinner will be with you shortly."

"Thanks."

-

Ororo had given Bobby and Jubes a ride to Blockbuster, though it was not at her own free will. She could handle Bobby and Jubes bugging her separately but together…they were unstoppable.

"What do you think about this one?" Bobby asked holding up a DVD of 'Spaceballs.'

Jubes shrugged. "Naw Ray rented that last week, but I think we should rent this one for Logan." She held up a copy of 'Gigli' and the both of them laughed.

Ororo peaked her head over one of the aisles. "Hurry it up you two, we've already been here for twenty-five minutes."

"Ok." They both replied sounding like two year olds; Ororo gave them a stern look and walked away.

"Lookey what I found." Jubes said reaching down to pick up a movie.

"What is it?"

She rose holding something behind her back. "It's only the best movie ever made." Bobby still did not understand, "Duh, 'Orange County' Bobby."

"I love this girl." He thought, smiling stupidly.

-

"Kitty could ya hand me a napkin?" Rahne asked.

"I'll get it." Sam said reaching and knocking Rahne's glass over, spilling water on her dress. "Oh gosh Rahne I'm sorry!" He patted her chest with a napkin and then realized what he was doing, "Oh jeez, I am so sorry I didn't mean ta-"

"I have to go fix my makeup and I'll get that cleaned up for you, C'mon Rahne." Kitty said pulling a shocked Rahne away from the table.

Marc watched them leave before he said anything. "Sam what are you doing?"

Sam looked at him baffled. "What'd'ya mean?"

"Ever since we got here you've been acting weirdly. Well first off you ordered blowfish for you and Rahne."

Sam looked shocked. "I ordered what?!"

Marc ignored him and continued. "You've had that stupid cocky smile like Roberto…"

"Did you say blowfish?" Sam interrupted again.

Marc continued, "Come to think of it, it's exactly like Roberto's."

"Blowfish."

"Yes blowfish!" Marc shouted causing several tables to turn and look at them. "Sorry folks."

-

"Kitty do'ya know what's up with Sam?" Rahne said sitting on a bench in the ladies room, drying the damp parts of the dress with the hand dryer.

"Close your eyes." Kitty applied some eye shadow to Rahne, "He's probably just nervous."

-

"Sam tell me what's up." Marc demanded.

"I've been followin' Roberto's advice an-"

"Wait, wait, wait…you actually listened to him?"

"Well Yeah."

Thwack

Sam rubbed the back of his head. "Oww…what'd'ya hit meh fo'!"

Marc shook his head. "For listening to him."

"I guess ya're right. Some of his advice was pretty out there, now that I come to think of it." Sam shrugged, "Ya know, he even tol' meh how at get her ta-"

Marc shivered. "I do not want to know."

Sam looked behind him and saw Kitty standing outside the ladies room.

"I'll be back in a sec." Marc said getting up and walking over to Kitty.

-

"Hey Marc what's up?" Kitty said confused to see him walking up to her.

"Oh nothing, I'm just wanted to ask you do you think that we should end this date now?"

Kitty looked angry. "Why?!"

Marc sighed. "Well Sam has been taking advice from Roberto, that's why he's been acting so weird. And I think it might be better if they just break off this date and go out some other time."

"Like, no way!" Kitty yelled as she stood there, with her hands on her hips. "Not after how hard I worked to get Rahne looking as good as that!"

"They'll have more fun if they go out by themselves." Marc shot back.

They two continued arguing; eventually trailing off into things that weren't even relevant to the situation at hand, not noticing Rahne passing by them and walking back over to Sam.

-

"Hey Sam?" She began tucking her dress underneath her legs, and sitting down next to Sam. "Why have ya been acting strange?"

"Umm…ta tell ya the truth, I've been listenin' ta Rob's advice on dates."

"Bad move." She said propping her head on her fist.

Sam did the same. "Ya know Rahne I've been thinkin' maybe, just fo' now, we should be friends?"

Rahne was clearly sad, but she understood where Sam was coming from. She knew that Sam liked her and he knew that she liked him, but this was neither the time nor place. This fancy stuff may have been fine with Marc and Kitty but they preferred the simple things.

"Aye," She said shifting nervously in her seat. "But just for now right?

Sam nodded and they got up and walked out the door.

-

Kitty and Marc were still quarrelling and right now, she was on a warpath. "I don't understand how you can be so-"

"Um, Kitty?"

"Stop trying to change the subject!"

"Kitty?"

"I know you-"

"KITTY!" Marc shouted.

"What?!"

"Where did they go?"

They move their heads back and forth, scanning the restaurant.

-

Outside, Sam and Rahne were walking alongside one and other on the frosty sidewalk. Sam wrapped his coat around her shivering body; she gave him a warm smile. It was then that Sam realized she had a twinkle in her eye and he felt his begin to heart pound.

"Ya still hungry Sam?" Rahne said hearing Sam's stomach growl, "Wanna go to that burger place down the street?"

Sam nodded thankful that she had said something. He placed his arm around her, "Rahne, I'd love to."

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Hoped you liked it…and if you're wondering what kind of restaurant it was that they were eating at…let's just say they serve food.


	13. Of Love And Cards

Disclaimer: X-Men! I disclaim thee!

****

Thanks for the reviews.

---------------------------Me Fail English? That's inpossible.-------------------------

Rogue did not think she could handle another fifteen-minute chat-athon with Kitty and Jubes in a car, instead, she decided to take twice the time and walk. She was only about a block from the mansion gates, but something was not right. She had the feeling, ever since she left school, that she was being followed. She was not sure but she wasn't unsure, which is good enough when you are an X-Man.

Now she was at the front door of the mansion and there was still something askew. She reached for the handle, then all of a sudden the bushed behind her rustled. This sent her into full defensive mode.

"Who's there?!" She called out, slipping one glove off.

She calmed herself, sighed and turned to back around, only to see a figure standing behind her. She pushed her bare palm at it, only to have the figure grab her covered wrist.

"Whoa!" The familiar voice said, "Ya may wan' look b'fo' unleashin' t'ose pretty han's o' yo's."

"Swamp rat! How many times do Ah have at tell ya, Stop followin' meh!" She roared trying to get around him.

"Can Remy com' in _chere?" _He asked Rogue. It is not like she had much of a choice he was blocking the entrance to the institute.

She tucked her dangling hair behind her ear. "Fine, just don't try to pull nothin' Swamp rat."

"T'anks, _p'tite._" Remy said grinning as Rogue, reluctantly, lead him in.

-

Marc walked into the rec-room and sat down next to Sam and Bobby. "Que

pasa guys?"

They were entranced by the action on the TV screen. They were playing Kurt's new Game "Halo."

"Hola," Marc snapped his fingers, "El polo? La bola de cañón? ¿Hay alguien en casa?"

No change. Marc flung his arms into the air as he exited, "Fine have a seizure!"

-

In the kitchen there was absolutely nothing going on. The only times that there had ever been less excitement to be around, are the nights that Kitty decides to cook.

Jamie rested his face on his hand. "Hey Roberto wanna go play basketball or something?"

Roberto cracked up at the notion. "You and me? One on one? Mano y mano?"

Jamie sighed, as he continued. "You know I'm too much for you to handle, but if it's what you want then so be it." Roberto smirked. It's his funeral.

-

Remy was sitting in the front room. In the chair Rogue left him in when she went to make sure the Professor was fine with him being there. And he remembered that she clearly said, "Stay here!" So he listened to her and begun setting up a nice game of solitaire, as he normally did to pass time. When his favorite card caught his eye. The queen of hearts. He started to pretend that he was throwing it, charged up and all. He did not notice someone enter.

Marc, suspicious, asked, "Hey who are you?" The voice startled Remy almost causing him to drop it.

"_Merde_, don' sneak up on Gambit like dat." He said relived.

Gambit? Marc knew that name; he had heard Rogue often mentioned it when she spoke to Kitty. "Oh so you're Gambit?"

"Remy see dat his name proceeds him." Remy smirked and returned to his game.

Marc looked at him. "Are those red contacts?"

"Dat's just my eyes."

"So you talk in the third person…that's cool." Marc said trying to make conversation, "whatcha doing?"

"Playin' Solitaire." Remy said flatly.

"Sooo…can I play?"

-

Jamie and Roberto were walking onto the court. Jamie was rolling his eyes as Roberto dribbled the ball behind his back and through his legs.

"Okay Jamie I'm in a generous mood," Roberto spoke slyly, "let's play to ten by ones. You get ball first and nine points, sound fair?" He handed the ball to Jamie.

__

::Swish:: "I win!" Jamie cheered.

Roberto's jaw fell. He looked first at the basket, then at Jamie. "How did you?" Roberto shook the initial shock and tried to find a cover. "Umm…I slipped on the snow."

-

After explaining to Marc that he couldn't play solitaire, the two decide to play a exciting game of Blackjack.

"Ya know how ta play, right?" Remy asked shuffling the cards.

Marc looked at him sharply. "Of coarse I do, you deal."

"Ya start off wit' a Nineteen."

"Hit me."

"O-k-a-y, Twenty-one."

"Hit me."

Remy rolled his eyes. "Thirty."

"Hit me."

-

After about fifteen minutes of Remy taking every game of cards Rogue came back from the Professor's office.

"Ey you, swamp rat the Professor says it's okay 'f yah don' cause any problems." She announced entering the room. She pulled Remy away from the game.

"T'anks _chere_, dat boy do not know how at play cards."

-

After taking 1 of 15 games from Jamie, Roberto was out of excuses. He had blamed it on everything from the sun in his eyes to he thought he saw Fred Durst getting beaten up by Clay Aiken, yet he still couldn't relinquish his pride and admit defeat.

"Come on Jamie, just one more game?" He begged.

Jamie rolled his eyes. "Give it up."

"Never!"

Jamie sighed, now pleading, "No one's around, just admit defeat."

"Okay, okay…Jamie I lost, you beat me."

__

::Click::

::Okay, okay…Jamie I lost, you beat me::

Roberto's head shot up. "What was that?!"

Jamie grinned, reached into his sweater, and pulled out a tape recorder.

::Click::

::Okay, okay…Jamie I lost, you beat me::

"Jamie get back here, I'll kill you!"

"Ahhh, Ororo help!"

-

Rogue and Remy entered the rec-room, "Gumbo-"

"Remy." He interrupted.

"Fahne then, Remy, what'r'ya doin' here?" She snapped.

"_Chere_, why do ya talk ta Remy lik' dat?" Remy asked charmingly.

Rogue looked irritated. "Don' give meh dat look, Remy."

He paled at her response. "Sorry _chere_, Remy just wan' ta talk."

She walked over to the window and enjoyed the view. "Whatta 'bout?"

"Ya remember last time we talked?" He said amiably, "Ya told meh dat things could neva work between us 'cause ya can' ever get close at anybody."

"Well it's true Remy!" She snapped, turning away from the window.

"Remy is fine wit dat, we can work through dat. I don' care about dat, because _chere_, I'm i-" Rogue put her finger over his lips and gave him a hug. Remy pulled away from, her looked at her, and then kissed her. Their lips smacked as the kissed passionately, Remy wobbled away and fell back onto a chair

"Are ya okay? Ah'm so sorry, please forgive meh? I told ya this wouldn't work!" Rogue rambled hysterically.

"So'k _chere,_"He said shaking off the absorption._ "_I'm fine in fact I feel great."

Rogue smiled, as she brought up one of his more recent thoughts. "I bet you do."

Remy blushed. "Oh for awhile don' concentrate on whatever you touch…unless you wan' ta blow somethin' up?"

"Why don't we just talk fo' a bit?" She said walking over and sitting on his lap.

He smiled. "_Chere_, I lov-" 

"Gumbo!" Logan burst into the room, claw protruding from his fists. "I thought I smelled ya."

Remy blew her a kiss. "I'll talk at ya soon, _chere_." Remy said exiting the through the window.

Logan snarled and looked out the window, but he was gone. "Rogue you okay?!"

She gave him an angry look and left the room.

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__

::Please Review::


	14. Truthfully

Disclaimer: I am not disclaiming anything this chapter…Bring it on lawyers, BRING IT OOOON!

"Truthfully" by Lisa Loeb and I thought it sounded a lot like the Romy in the last chapter. It's set directly where the last chapter left off…Please Review!

------------------------------------I call it Taco Island!-----------------------------------

Rogue stormed through the halls to her room as Logan followed close behind. "What Rogue?" Logan asked, she just ignored him and continued stomping her feet, 'I can't believe Logan!' She thought as she swung the door to her room open.

"Rogue wait." Logan pleaded as he tried to follow her into her room, but was met by the sound her slamming door. He thought about knocking but didn't, that probably would have been the worst thing he could have done at that time. So he let her be.

She sat down on the edge of her bed not knowing that she was not alone. She heard the faint sound of a giggle and quickly turned around to see Kitty and Marc lying together on the other bed making out.

She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Kitty! Do ya think you an' Marc could find a different place ta do that?!"

"Hi Rogue." Marc waved as Kitty rolled off the bed.

"Oh sorry Rogue," Kitty said sounding short of breath. "We kinda got bored so we, like…well, you know the rest. We'll go somewhere else." She added pulling Marc out of the room.

"Bye Rogue." Marc said as Kitty phased them through the door.

Rogue shook her head and laid on the bed, resting on her back after shifted around from side to side. She stared up at the sealing and thought of the kiss that she and Remy shared just five minutes ago.

"Stupid Logan." She mumbled, rolling to her side. How could he mess up something so perfect, she was finally happy and content?

__

-This isn't what I like to call flattery,

The way it made her feel, it was her first kiss and it was going to be etched into her memory forever.

__

-But I know that I believe that I've found what's true,

She finally found the man of her dreams…and he liked her.

__

-That I've found what's you.

He didn't just 'like' her he loved her. This she knew because she absorbed his thoughts, he honestly loved her. He didn't care about her powers.

_-Truthfully, I…_

-I'm finding finally.

He proved that a fact he risked serious injury just for a brief touching of his lips to hers.

__

-Truthfully, you…

Though brief, that kiss left her breathless and wanting more.

-you helped me find at last.

From the first time they met, she wanted more. Even though he tried to blow her up, he had her charmed the second she looked into those passionate bright red glowing eyes of his.

__

-Truthfully, we…

-are finding out what's true.

She loved him.

__

-And truthfully I am finding out what's you.

He loved her.

_  
  
-Surprise, cause I was flying the plane._

How could she have not noticed that sooner?

-Surprise, cause now I'm smiling again.

She could not believe how naïve she had been. He had left her roses, poems, messages and yet she still could not figure it out. They were made for each other. He knew it all along and he tried to show her but she always denied her emotions instead of giving into what she knew to be right. She smiled as she though of every time he did something stupid to get her to notice him.

__

-Surprise, cause you showed up with your parachute.

-Surprise, I'm kind of happy you showed up.

Today Remy helped her.

_-Truthfully, I…_

-I'm finding finally.

-Truthfully, you…

-you helped me find at last.

He helped her to find a part of her.

-Truthfully, we…

-are finding out what's true.

A part of her that had been lost ever since that night her powers emerged. She never thought that she could get close to another. She feared that if she did they would be hurt.

-And truthfully I am finding out what's you.

She did not even think that it might have hurt Remy more to be away from her then anything else. She needed to apologize to him, but looking for him wasn't the answer.

_-Truthfully, I really can't explain, I'm floating, I'm smiling again._

All she had to do was wait patiently for him to find her.

__

-Truthfully, I can't ignore you, cause I've been waiting for you.

He always did.

__

-Truthfully, I'm not desperate, I haven't changed my mind since we first met,

And she couldn't wait until he did, so she could let all of her feeling flow freely onto him. She couldn't wait for the next time he would look into her eyes and tell her he loves her and she then would do the same.

__

-But the last thing that I want to do is to tell you that I'm right for you.  
  
-Truthfully, I…

-I'm finding finally.

She sighed dreamily, she was getting tired, and begun to dose off a little.

__

-Truthfully, you…

-you helped me find at last.

She though she would never have a shot at true love.

__

-Truthfully, we…

She was wrong.

__

-are finding out what's true.

-And truthfully I am finding out what's you.

She found it.

_-I'm finding finally._

-Truthfully, I'm finding out what's you.

She though that no one could ever love her.

__

-I'm smiling again.

She was wrong. The love she found was in the eyes of a certain red-eyed Cajun. True love.

__

-Truthfully

She reached over to her dresser and pick up the card that Remy had left her a few days back. She read it over to herself as she laid on her side and giggling at his horrible grammar…he still got his message across though. She closed her eyes and smiled because inside she knew…truthfully she knew that she was in love. She fell asleep with that card in her hand she couldn't wait to see him again.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That song was "Truthfully" by Lisa Loeb.

Did you like it? Please tell me I would really like to know how it was…no matter how bad you think it was just tell me.


	15. Surfs Up! 1of2

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Marc, Derek, and this donut I'm eating.

Thanks to The Fic Analyzer who provided me with the information needed to write the next two chapters…THANK YOU!

Thanks to all of the reviewers.

And now for a phase that has lost all meaning…Please Review!

--------------------------------You're on Scare Tactics---------------------------------

Scott hated to fly. Period. Wouldn't you if your first experience in a plane ended with the loss of both parents. And even though he didn't show it, he hated flying the Blackbird but he put his feelings aside for the good of the team. The flight wasn't that bad, even the flight attendant was nice enough to give him extra peanuts. Scott didn't like flying but the man loved his peanuts.

"Scott!" Alex cheered running over to Scott who was exiting the airplane, "I'm Glad you could make it a day early, now we get to hang."

"I missed you little bro." Scott said hugging him.

Alex pushed him off. "Dude cut the mushy stuff; let's go home you look beat. How long was that flight nine hours?" He looked at his watch, doing the math. "Let's see, 7 pm plus nine hours equals…six am. Yep nine hours."

Scott noticed someone running up to them and put his hand on his shades.

"Scott, Chill brah," Alex said pulling Scott's hand away from his glasses. "that's just my bud Derek me and him bought this awesome beast, that's how we got here."

Derek was out of breath. "Hey Alex, hey guy standing next to Alex, I got lost."

"Yeah I was wonderin' what happened to ya."

"Those gift shops are confusing."

"I know."

Derek's eyes enlarged as if he recalled something. "Hey I just thought of something." He started to take a look around the terminal, "If these things are so safe, than why are they called terminals." He concluded staring at the sealing.

Scott rolled his eyes. "Deep."

-

"Ray what're you watching?" Jamie asked.

"Cartoons." he replied stupefied by the television.

"What cartoon?" Jamie asked, now sitting on the floor.

"Cartoons." Ray's tone or manner did not change.

"Ray," Roberto said entering and sitting in a chair, "are you watching that 'Ed, Edd, and Eddy' show again?"

"Yeah I can't help it, it's addictive plus there's a marathon of them on."

-

"This is your car?" Scott said making a face.

"Van." Derek couldn't help but interrupt.

"Yeah it's totally a sandbox I know, but we own it." Alex said hi-fiveing Derek.

-

Marc and Kitty walk in holding hands and sat on the sofa next to Ray.

"What's up guys?" Kitty asked.

"Watching TV." They said.

Marc released Kitty's hand and leaned towards the TV. "Hey 'Ed, Edd and Eddy' I love this show."

-

__

::Right Now I don't know what to say::

::Because you're mean and I never liked you any way::

Scott and Alex were lip-syncing "I Feel Fine" with radio; however Derek was, for reasons only he could comprehend, singing the lyrics to _"Californication."_

::Don't ever call cuz I don't wanna be friend::

::Excuse me now because the chorus is coming up again::

::1,2,-::

Derek abruptly turned off the radio by pounding the dashboard. "HEY!" Scott and Alex griped.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, guess what I just had?" He said ignoring their whines.

Scott mumbled, "Several pills?"

"I just had one of those epiphany-thingies." Derek said contently.

Alex looked excited. "Well don't leave us in the dark."

"Okay prepare yourselves for a real thinker." Derek warned pointing at his head, "Why do they have interstate highways on Hawaii if it's an island?" He asked dramatically.

Scott turned to Alex, "I don't feel safe with him driving." He whispered into his ear.

-

Kitty rolled her eyes. "Like, how long are you guys gonna sit here?"

__

::Buttered toast:: The sound came from the television.

Everyone laughed, ignoring Kitty.

Kitty slouched back and crossed her arms. "Men." She whined.

-

"We're here." Derek announced to the passengers.

"Finally." Scott grumbled holding his stomach.

"What's up brah, you getting car sick?" Alex asked.

Scott opened the door of the parked van and threw up.

Derek watched him with an amazed grin on his face. "Sweet."

-

Kitty, slouched back, arms crossed, was still whining in protest and they were still ignoring her.

"C'mon guys this is stupid." She stood and looked at the group, who reminded her of mindless zombies, "Sam? Ray? Jamie? Roberto? Marc?! Is anyone listening to me?!"

-

Alex helped Scott to his bed. "You don't look like you're gonna be able to get outta bed for the rest of the day Scott."

"I'm sorry I can't hang out with you today, but I'll be ready to watch you win first place tomorrow."

"Hey, it's cool just feel better man."

-

Kitty got an idea, if this didn't work nothing would. She crawled onto the couch, creeping closer to Marc. She gently kissed his cheek a few times and whispering something in his ear. Getting off the couch, she looked at Marc, no change.

"Hmmp!" She squeaked, crossing her arms and leaving the room.

"Hey wasn't Kitty here?" Jamie asked, about five minutes after Kitty left.

"No." Roberto shrugged, "But hey, is it just me do does that Eddy dude sound a lot like Ray?"

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Any questions, comments, concerns…or do you just feel like smacking me or Marc? Feel free to do so in your reviews…it's called feedback.

__

"Californication" by The Red Hot Chili Peppers

"I Feel Fine" by The Riddlin' Kids


	16. Surfs Up! 2of2

Disclaimer: Oh, just because I **_don't _**own The X-Men means that I **_don't _**own them?

Thanks again to The Fic Analyzer, who provided me with info for this and last chapter.

Thanks for the reviews.

------------------------------------Get Your Own Box------------------------------------

"How ya feeling brah?" Alex ask bursting into the room.

Scott rose from guest bed and began his daily morning calisthenics, Alex raised an eyebrow. "A lot better than yesterday, I'm ready to see you win today."

He was still giving Scott a strange look. "What are you doing?"

"I'm stretching for my morning jog, you want come?"

"Jog?!" Alex said taking a seat on a wooden chair. "Dude, you're on vacation?"

"Hey, I need to keep in shape-"

"For Jean?" Alex said mischievously cutting off Scott.

Scott blushed. "No! Well, yes, but…wait no!"

Alex smirked. "Though so."

"Your competition is in two hours, shouldn't you be getting ready too?" Scott asked shuffling through his duffle bag looking for his red tank top.

Alex balanced the chair on two legs. "We surfers have this saying don-" He fell back and hit the ground with a thud. "I'm okay."

-

Amara was lying in bed reading a magazine; Marc was in his bed across from hers just waking up.

"Hey Amara." He greeted, not yet opening his eyes.

"Good morning don't you mean Good afternoon?" She asked unaware that Marc had slept in the clothes he wore last night.

Marc looked at the clock, it read 12:30pm. "Yeah I was up late talking to Kitty, she was mad at me about something that happened yesterday...I'm not sure what it was about. She kept mentioning butter and toast though."

Amara looked a little concerned. "You guys ok?"

"Yeah we're cool, I just apologized and told her that she was right and I was wrong," Marc admitted. "That about patched it up."

"That's good." Amara said trying to look as relieved.

Marc turned rolled on his side to look at her. "What do you like to do?"

"Why are you asking me?" She asked.

"I'm bored." Marc replied in a flat voice.

"That makes me feel reeeal special." Amara replied with a sarcastic smile plastered on her face.

"I didn't mean it like that," Marc apologized, "I mean, like, you're my friend and I would like to know, like…what you like."

"You do realize you said 'like' five times in that sentences?" She asked sitting up in her bed. "Maybe you should spend less time with Kitty?" She joked, kind of.

"Ha ha very funny, so tell me."

"Let me think…I like shopping!" She announced.

"Only shopping?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Hey do you wanna find something to do?" Marc asked sitting up in bed.

Amara shrugged. "Sure."

Marc stood up and pulled Amara off her bed. "Letz go!"

-

After Derek picked them up, they headed strait to the beach. The weather was good, and the waves were even better. Even ESPN 2 was there to cover the event. Alex had an extra spring in his step today.

"I am so freakin' amped for this!" He announced to the world, leaping into the air.

Derek patted him on the back. "You should be dude, cuz you were invited here!" Derek thought for a second then said, "And if you weren't here than you'd be somewhere else and I'd be there too and your brother would be here for no reason; which wouldn't make sense now would it?"

Scott's head started to hurt from Derek's little speech. "Derek, you surf?".

Derek thought for a second, "Well if by surf you mean, getting on a board and glide across the water, then yeah I surf all the time."

Scott made a mental note to not get into a vehicle that he is driving again. "Why aren't you out there?"

"I'm not **that **good…plus they banned me for doing a white whale to some shoobies."

Scott was possibly more confused than before, until Alex filled him in. "Scott, a 'white whale' is mooning someone while you're surfing. Just in case you didn't know."

Derek unloaded Alex's board and they began to wax it down, "Hey Scott do you mind getting us some sodas?"

"Sure little bro, what do you guys want?"

"I'll take a Coke, Derek how about you?"

"Just get me anything, please?" Scott began to walk off but Derek wasn't done yet, "Except, Sprite, Coke, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, anything with citric acid, Mountain Dew, Big Red…" And the list went on.

-

Amara and Marc had been looking for something to do for awhile now but alas to no avail.

"Where is everyone?" Marc asked as he and Amara sat on a couple of chairs.

She looked at him. "Well Bobby is out with Jubes and everyone else is outside playing softball, do you want to go out…there and play?" She nervously added the last part.

"Is there a memo that tells you these thing or are you psychic too?"

"What?"

"Never mind…You could go play if you want to, it's still a little cold for me."

"No I don't really like the cold either."

"Wanna play a board game?" Marc proposed.

-

Scott returned and handed them their beverages. "Alex here a Pepsi for you, they didn't have Coke, and Derek here is your...water."

"Thank you very much sir." Derek said taking his drink without looking at Scott.

Scott scratched his head. "Derek you don't have to call me sir."

Derek turned around to look at Scott. "Hey Scott where were ya?" He asked with wide eyes, "This nice man was handing out water…in cups!"

Scott was about to strangle him when, a voice boomed over the loud speaker.

__

"Number 13 you're up next, get ready!"

"Ya here that, it's time to show them what a real surfer can do!" Alex exclaimed, taking his board and running off to the competitions established surfing area.

"Good luck bro!" Scott yelled after him.

"Yeah show those 'Espen' dudes how to truly rip!" Derek added.

Scott turned to Derek. "It's pronounced 'E-S-P-N' not 'Espen' Derek."

"Who now?"

-

"Well we can't play Monopoly." Amara said holding the charred and ripped game board out for Marc to see.

"What happened?" Marc asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well Ray and Tabitha, you don't know her, where arguing on who was better the little dog or the hat…and lets just say things got ugly." She shivered as the memory of that night filled her mind.

"What else do ya got?" He asked.

"Hold on," She said as she stood on a chair to reach a higher shelf, "Well all the others look burnt, destroy, or chewed; so it looks like board games are out."

Marc looked confused. "Chewed?"

"Yeah…believe me you do not want to know." She said with a playful grin.

Amara began to step off the chair when an explosion, from the ball field, shook the area and tossed her off backwards. She was okay though…Marc broke her fall.

"Amara, you hurt?" Marc said huffed grimacing.

"I'm fine, thanks." She panted.

"Good…could you get off me now?"

-

"Look at Alex go, I didn't know he was that good." Scott said to no one in particular.

Derek clapped. "Well he **_is_** a pro now"

"You're right." He conceded, "Wow! What do you call that?!"

"Sweeetttttt! That's one of his specialties!" Derek yelled, "That's massive tunnel love, he stayed in that barrel for fifteen seconds. He calls it 'Havok's Handle' it could win it for him."

"It could?"

"Yeah unless…that happens."

"That wave looked like it pulled Alex under and then spit him out him out!"

Derek posed in the 'thinking man' position. "Well in actuality, the escalating swell dwindled away for a split second; which in turn caused the tide to contract and subsequently escalate to its earlier point of altitude. It's an activity analogous to that or the hearts A-V and A-S nodes…fascinating isn't it…dude?"

Scott's mouth hung open.

-

"How about we just watch TV?" Marc said as they sat on the couch.

"Yeah, lets see what's on." She pointed the remote at the tube turning it on.

__

::EAT QUIZNOS SUBS!::

::COZ THEY ARE GOOD TO US!::

::EAT QUIZNOS SUB!::

Amara quickly changed the station and they looked at each other with terror in their eyes.

"What in the BLUE HELL was that!" Marc holding his head.

Amara shook her head wildly. "I have no clue!"

-

The judges weren't going to announce their decisions until after a short intermission, so Alex went looking for Scott and Derek.

"Hey Brah what's up?!" He said tapping a man's, who he thought was Scott, shoulder.

"I'm not your Brah." The guy said in a snooty tone and walked away.

"Alex you rocked!" Scott cheered.

Derek followed. "You got a real chance! Well, opposed to a fake chance…but that's besides the point."

Just then, two scantily clad bikini babes walked passed Alex and eyed him.

"Nice riding out there." Scantily clad bikini babe #2 said giggling.

Alex nodded and as they got a little further away said, "Derek, you and me together we are invincible!"

"Granted my bro, we are good…but people can still see us." He said and then walked after the girls.

Scott whispered. "Alex would you mind if tonight I take a taxi to the airport, he is really scaring me?"

-

"Well Marc we did absolutely nothing today." Amara said as they entered their room.

Marc nodded. "I agree…well we did wander around the mansion and discuss memos."

"And we also talked about how those poor unfortunate board games met their demise." Amara added.

"And you may have broken my ribs!"

"Let it go, I didn't land on you that hard."

"But you weigh a lot."

"Take that back!"

"Okay…you weigh a ton."

"That's it!" She said picking up her pillow and clocking Marc in the head several times, then Marc retaliated with one of his own.

Amara covered her face to hide her tears.

"I'm so sorry, are you okay?" Marc said compassionately.

'Sucker.' Amara thought, and then smacked Marc right in the face with the pillow.

"Ouch! Amara that's cheating!" Marc whined.

Amara laughed and was soon followed by Marc, after he conceded to her obvious superior pillow fighting skills.

-

"Congratulations, second place." Scott said patting Alex on the back.

"Thanks, I probably could've won if I didn't wipeout that one time." Alex admitted.

"You should have won," Scott said, "those judges robbed you."

"It's okay this was only my first competition; second is very good. Plus the dude who won deserved it."

Scott ignored him. "Yeah and don't get me started on him…I mean who does this 'Kelly Slater' guy think he is?!"

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	17. Hearing Test

Disclaimer: I own Marc and the idea nothing else.

--------------------------Spiderman wearin' the Nike shoes!--------------------------

Though the snow hadn't completely, ceased the days were slowly getting warmer. Marc was happy for that fact. The cold got to him faster due to his powers, luckily Logan and Marc were in the danger room today for Marc's training.

"Wolverine these training sessions are taking a lot out of me; do you think, just for one day, I could take it off." Marc pleaded.

"Why, you hurt?" Logan asked.

"Well…no, except for all these bruises."

"I thought you were a fast healer."

"I don't heal as fast as you."

"Ya know what kid? I'm not gonna give you the day off, in fact I'll make it harder."

"You're a d-" Marc bit his tongue, he'd just make it worse if he said anything.

Logan walked up the reflective steps into the control room as Marc prepared to start. Xavier rolled into the control room through the alternate entrance.

He pulled up next to Logan. "How is the training going?"

Logan had a indecisive look on his face. "It's working out okay but…it's almost like he doesn't want to learn. I keep trying to motivate him, but it ain't working. The thing that ticks me off the most, is that he's got potential that he's not gonna reach because of his attitude."

-

"Hey Amara, can I talked to ya for a sec?" Jubes asked, putting her gloves on in preparation for today's session.

Amara yawned. "Sure, what about?"

"I've been meaning to ask you, you remember a awhile ago when you said you liked Marc?" Jubes asked timidly.

"Oh…about that, I just said that to shut Tabby up." She replied grinning nervously, she wasn't a good liar.

But it was early so Jubes looked relieved. "Good. Cuz I'm friends with You and Marc and Kitty. And if you liked him that would make me really, really, nervous around you three."

"Yeah." She said softly, biting her lip.

-

"Watch out for the lasers kid!" Logan said from the control center of the danger room.

He evaded them, and took out the turret that was firing on him. He was then caught in between two walls that began to clothes in on him, he rolled through away just before they crushed him. An electrical net rose from the floor so slid and crawled under it. Then another net launched at him from the sealing, he torched it with ease. All of a sudden a large mech arm swung at Marc, he had no time to react so he got set for impact. The arm jammed before it hit him, making a loud, shrill scrapping noise.

Logan winced. "Okay we're done for today kid." He looked down only to see him lying on the floor. "You okay?!"

Logan ran down the stairs to the danger rooms floor.

"What the hell?!" He said kneeling next to Marc who had his hands pressed tightly on his ears.

"MY EARS!" He cried.

-

"He's waking up, Professor." Hank said as Marc opened his eyes.

"What happened?" Marc said Groggily.

The Professor wheeled over to Marc's bed in the infirmary. "We were hoping you could tell us that."

"Yeah when I found ya, you were covering your ears and yelling." Logan added.

"Well last I remember, there was loud noise and I felt pain and…that's about it."

Hank picked up a document and studied it. "Your advanced hearing must have been set off when you heard it."

Marc shook his head. "No it couldn't be I learned how to block it out."

Logan raised an eyebrow at this. "Block it out?"

"Yeah so I don't have to hear everything." Marc said sitting up.

Logan smirked. "Well there's your problem, you can't block it out you have to learn to focus it."

"Well now that this is settled, I have other business to attend to." The Professor said rolling out of the room.

"You should probably stay home from school, kid." Logan said with concern.

Hank and Marc looked at him suspiciously.

Hank cleared his throat then spoke in a sarcastic tone, "How…considerate of you Logan."

"What, can't a man be a little concerned?" He said beginning to exit the infirmary. "I'm trying to be a better role model in a way. We'll start working on your hearing in few days just rest for now, I'm gonna go get a beer." Logan said exiting.

"I agree with Logan, not the beer part the staying home from school part. You're going to have to miss school today, don't feel too sad." Hank said with a smile.

"Some how…I'll manage." He feigned dramatically.

-

Hank sent Marc to his room with ear plugs. Marc was lying in his bed staring out the window to his right. The sun shined onto his face through the fluttering snowy leaves of the trees, warming him. School was only halfway into first period and he had the rest of the day to pretty much do whatever he wanted to. But he still couldn't shake Logan's words to the Professor, he had overheard them talking before his training. He knew Logan was right and that's what annoyed him. He knew he was better than what his effort suggested…"It's about time I prove it." He said jumping out of bed.

-

"Logan!" Marc shout from behind Logan.

He turn around and spit. "Wha'd'ya want, and what're ya doing outta bed?"

"I'm here to.." He started and unplugged his ears, "I want to train, now."

Logan's eyes widened. "What didn't you hear Beast? You're not s'posed at be up at all."

"I don't give a damn!" Marc shouted in his face, Logan raised an eyebrow.

Logan stepped up to Marc and revealed his blades. "Do you know how many people who've yelled in my face still have their lips?"

Marc gulped. "No sir, I'm not aware."

They stood there glaring at each other, each with a bit of rage in their minds.

"Go get your uniform and go to the danger room." Logan said reluctantly.

-

"Hey Jubes, do you know where Marc is?" Bobby ask as Jubes was walking by.

"Nope," She said as she passed and Bobby began following her, "Do you have the notes for English?"

Bobby gestured 'one-minute' and began digging through his backpack. Inside was a mess, there was no folders, dividers, or sanity for that matter. "Bobby do you really need all this…stuff?" Jubes asked disgusted.

"Wow Jubes, since when did you become such a neat freak?" Bobby snapped jokingly as he pulled out an old sandwich, which he tossed over his shoulder.

"I'm not a neat freak!" She said stomping, "It's just kinda gross in there." She said peaking into the bag.

Bobby's head shot up. "Gross?!"

"Well yeah, do you really need all that crap, ya freakin' pack rat?"

Bobby took offence. "I need all this stuff, it is instrumental part of my day."

"Instrumental…big word?"

"Yeah, it is. I got that from my word of the day calendar that's in there…somewhere. Everything in here is important."

"Yeah Bobby, you never know when your going to need this." Jubes mocked as she pulled out a rubber steak chew toy.

"Um...just in case Rahne…" Bobby sighed. "Okay, Jubes, you win."

"Don't I always?" Jubes laughed, put her are around Bobby and began to walk. "Stick with me kid and you'll go far." She said smiling. Bobby barely opened his mouth to comment before she cut him off, "No, Bobby, not that far." Bobby put his head down, Jubes, smiled, tilted his head up and kissed his cheek. They shared a laugh.

-

Marc entered the Danger Room, which looked different than usual. There were a few speakers and several weird looking razors wheels, but they didn't look like weapons. They looked more like props.

"Mr. Logan, what's all this?" Marc asked observing the area.

Logan Walked over to him. "It's just some materials you're gonna need, now put this on."

"A blindfold?" Marc said staring at the clothe.

"Yeah, now put it on." Logan growled, and Marc quickly covered his eyes. After Logan made certain he couldn't see, he explained the idea. "In this room there are four boxes that make a light vibrating sound, find 'em and destroy 'em."

"That's all?"

Logan smirked, Marc of course couldn't see. "That's all."

Logan made his way to the control room. "Ready…go!"

Marc heard two of them, and slowly walked to over to it and burnt them to crisps. Marc smirked, this was easy…almost too easy. "Up it!" Marc yelled.

All of the before mentioned saws activated, Marc jumped and covered his ears. The sound was almost deafening, Marc fell to a knee. "You can do this!" He repeated in his head. "You can do this."

Marc wobbled to his feet and let out an enraged cry, he had to focus his hearing on the vibrating sound. He could barley think strait and hear his thoughts let alone hear a little vibration. He calmed himself and tried to focus but it hurt so much. To take some of the pain away, he even tried to dig his nails into his palms. He heard a infinitesimal reverberation and blindly blasted it.

"Good job…only one more!" Logan yelled from the balcony of the control room.

Marc started to move when from the speakers came a incomprehensibly high pitched screech. Marc fell on his back at that, covering his ears and rolling around. Logan quickly turned them off, "Damn…you okay!"

"Turn..them..back…on!" Marc demanded harshly, Logan looked at him disapprovingly but did it.

The sound blared once more. It's resonance reverberated off all things in the Danger Room, then made it's way into Marc's eardrum pounding away at his sound receptors. Marc tried to focus, to no avail however. "Ahhhhhh!"

Marc, grinding his teeth together, stood as he suppressed the pain as much as he could. He increased the intensity of his hearing causing the sound to echo in is brain. He fell once more but quickly rose. He tried to focus again…this time it worked, but the noise of it all was so overbearing he fell to his knees. His ears picked up on the pulsation and he crawled over and pushed through the pain and smashed the box with a swift downward fist. The noise silenced. He fell face first onto the cold steel floor.

"Ya did it, you stupid kid." Logan said picking Marc up and helping him stand.

Marc wobbled a little as he took his blindfold off. "Is that a complement…?"

Logan grunt and lightheartedly push him causing Marc to fall. "Training continues tomorrow, five-thirty…don't be late."

"I'll take that as, 'Marc you are my best student ever', then." Marc said shaking his head. Logan gave him a hardhearted look turned and walked away, chuckling quietly to himself.

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	18. Attack of The Clones

Disclaimer: I thought I owned the X-Men…turns out I don't.

Please Review.

------------------------The voices in my head are on strike!---------------------------

It's a lazy Saturday, no training today, what's a mutant to do? The new recruits and Kurt and Kitty, were just relaxing waiting for Bobby to get back from the groceries store with Jean and Scott.

"Hey guy's look what I got." Bobby said setting the package down, all the mutants ran over to see what it was about. "I just picked up 27 Redbulls! Time to party!"

"Vell bust zhem out Bobby!" Kurt yelled and the others verbally agreed.

Bobby unloaded them. "Well to buy these I had to promise Scott that we wouldn't get hyper and run amuck…" Bobby and Marc started to crack up.

Marc hi-fives Bobby laughing. "Good one Bobby!"

"None for me, thank ya." Rahne said turning down the drink.

Bobby shrugged and handed out cans to everyone else, but Kitty is hesitant to take one. "C'mon Kitty try one, they ain't that bad." Sam pleaded.

Kitty still looked unconvinced. "I don't know…"

"It wont hurt you…see." Bobby said opening his can and sipping it…then falling to the floor and going into convulsions. Kitty totally freaked.

"Get up." Jubes said wearily and kicked him in the ribs.

Bobby sighed. "I was just playing around."

Marc walked over to Kitty and handed her a can. "Kitty I tried tofu that one time, you owe me……I promise that it doesn't have any actual bull's in it." He teased.

She smiled sarcastically taking the can from his hand. "It doesn't taste that great…"

"Yeah kinda like your cooking." Jamie whispered quietly.

Jubes made a face as she took a drink from the can. "It kinda tastes like old black licorice and NyQuil."

Jamie giggled to himself as he remembered the day when Kitty tried to made candy.

"Redbull gives you wings!" Kurt joked, flapping his arms.

"Um guys…where's mine?" Jamie asked with wide adorable eyes.

Bobby put his hand on Jamie shoulder. "Sorry but I don't think you should have one."

"Why?!" He yelled.

"Do you remember last Halloween?" Ray asked taking a drink, "When you made a giant Tootsie Roll out of seventy-five smaller ones?"

"You ate it in fifteen seconds flat." Roberto added.

"Yeah and you were up all night trying to scare everybody with your Bill Clinton mask." Amara snapped remembering that sleepless night.

"If I find one missing-" Bobby started but was abruptly cut off by Jamie.

"Fine!" Jamie gave up and Bobby put the Redbulls on the table.

"Well now that that's settled, GO CRAZY!" Bobby shouted flinging his arms into the air and hitting a lamp and knocking it off it's set, luckily Marc caught it.

Rahne sighed. "Maybe we should go outside, I've got a feeling something is gonna break."

They all walked out except Marc, who went to get his jacket.

"Kitty wait?" Kitty was the last out but Jamie called to her softly, but turned away when she looked at him.

"What Jamie?" She said tenderly.

"Would you mind giving me a can, I'll only drink a little?"

"Jamie I sorry but," She paused as she was put under a spell by looking at Jamie's puppy dog-like eyes. How could she say no to that. "Fine but don't tell anyone."

She handed him hers. "Thank you Kitty you're nice and your cooking is good."

Kitty smiled, rubbed his head and went to join the others. Jamie waited for her to leave then gulped the entire thing in seconds. Then look at the other cans on the table and…

-

Kitty crossed her arms and began to tap one foot. "That is SO not going to happen!"

"Why Not? I think-" Roberto started but was cut off by Amara.

"I don't care Roberto, we are not gonna do that!" Amara yelled clenching her fists and stomping.

"Please." Roberto Begged.

Jubes rolled her eyes. "No! No skinny-dipping! It's out of the question!"

Sam sighed as he look at Rahne. "How long have those four been at this?"

"I'd say about five minutes." Rahne replied flatly.

Bobby notice that Jubes looked like she was about to strangle Roberto, so he decided to step in. "Okay guys this is just getting old fast, lets think of something better to do."

Marc walked into the conversation. "I concur, as much a I would love to see it-" Kitty, Amara, and Jubes cut him off with three back hand slaps to his arms. "Okay…OUCH, that hurt. All I'm saying is…I agree with Bobby…man you guy have anger management issues."

"Ja but vhat are we going to do? There's nothing we can really do."

Bobby whispers something to Marc. Marc begins to walk away, but gets tackled from behind by Bobby. Marc rolls and pushes him off and then punched him.

-

Jamie was now sitting at the table in the kitchen, surrounded by several empty cans of RedBull. This won't end well.

-

"Bobby stop!" Jubes pleaded as Bobby and Marc continued to hit one and other, but it didn't help. Marc ducked out of the way of one of punch and then threw one of his own but missed and was bodyslamed by Bobby. Marc kipped up and hit him with an elbow then punched him square in the face.

"Please stop!" Kitty pleaded, panicking, as Marc picked him up and pushed him into a tree. Bobby was on his knees and tripped Marc, then picked him up and kicked him between the legs. "OMIGOSH, Marc!" She screamed.

Marc wobbled to his feet, Bobby turned and smirked at Kitty then turned hurled a punch just stopping an inch from Marc's face. Bobby smiled and Marc began to laugh.

"Okay will someone explain what's going on here?" Sam shouted.

"Me and Marc where in a drama class back in Massachusetts." Bobby said laughing.

Marc nodded. "Yeah we even learned how to choreograph fight scenes." The rest of the mutants gave the two angry looks. "Though Bobby I think you're getting a little rusty…you really got me that time." Marc said grimacing a bit.

"Sorry man," Bobby said rubbing the back of his head, and then turned to Kitty. "and sorry to you Kitty."

"Bobby!" Kitty shouted lunging at him but was restrained by Marc, and then she hit Marc.

"Ouch." Marc complained laughing.

"I think it's time for som'more RedBulls, be right back." Jubes said walking away from the madness towards the mansion. Just as she was about to open the mansion door, Jamie burst with out a towel around his neck like a cape and his shirt off.

"I am the one man army!" He shouted as he started run into the side of the mansion, creating about twenty-five clones.

"What's gotten into Jamie?" Ray said fiddling with the little pieces of hair on his head.

Jubes ran out of the house with some empty cans. "I think it has something to do with this."

Kitty slowly started to back away while the group was looking at Jamie.

Bobby notice. "You didn't?"

All the mutants turned to Kitty.

"You did!" Bobby said.

"But…I didn't…he promised…the eyes…only a little!" Kitty said mixing her words.

"We have ta collect 'em all now, thanks a lot." Sam groaned.

Jamie caught wind of their plans. "Never! Scatter!"

All of the clones took off in separate directions. "Okay guys, let's do what we do best." Bobby said.

"We are best at catching Jamie's clones?" Rahne ask as she morphed into wolf form.

Bobby sighed. "You know what I mean!"

"Actually I'm somewhat unclear myself." Marc said watching the Jamies' run amuck.

"Never mind, just get them!" Jubes yelled, and they dispersed after them.

Sam and Marc caught two each after having to tackle them, while Kitty got three to stop just by asking. Bobby froze five clones up to the ankle stopping them in their tracks. Jubes casually stuck he foot out and tripped up two, Rahne's plan worked to perfection as she turn half-way wolf form and scared three of them until they passed out. Ray and Roberto couldn't catch a single one and just started to curse a bit. Amara and Kurt teamed up to catch seven.

"We've got them all?" Jubes said counting the Jamies before they disappeared, "Wait where's the original?"

Jamie giggled.

Ray pointed towards Jamie standing by a tree near the fountain. "Get him!"

Jamie ran into the tree creating even more clones then ran away shouting, "You can take my clones, but you can never take my FREEEEDOM!"

---------------------Two Hours Later---------------------

All the mutants were jumbled lying all over the front room clothes burnt and tattered. All completely warn out from their day.

"Ray…can you move?" Jubes ask lying face first on the carpet.

Ray, who was slung over one of the couch arms, replied dully. "All I can do is blink…but it hurts."

"Mein fur hurts." Kurt complained.

Bobby said while lying on his back. "Yeah well…my pockets hurt."

"Remind me to hit you for that!" Jubes yelled from across the room.

Jamie was still rolling around on the floor. "Hey I'm the President, look at me!"

Two of Jamie's clone were running around but came to an abrupt stop as the collided head-on and disappeared.

"Jamie…I mean the Jamies are still at it?" Marc sighed in disbelief.

"I guess it got inta his blood stream." Sam said as he and Rahne were struggling to stand.

"Well he had to have had at least seven of them."

"How why did we listen to Bobby?" Kitty said on her knees.

Bobby grumbled. "You're the one who gave him one."

"I just gave him one!"

Scott and Jean walked into the room and sighed.

"He got you again, Scott." Jean said smiling.

Scott slapped his forehead. "I knew he had his fingers crossed."

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	19. Prankster's Anniversary

Disclaimer: I own none of this stuff…except Marc Maseon…and some other things.

-------Aww…he was just gonna sing a song about the song he just sang.-------

Scott grabbed his keys and headed for the door, when he was stopped by Marc. "Hey Scott, sorry to ask you but, can you give me and Kitty ride to the movies?"

"Sure Jean wants to see a movie anyways." He replied holding the door for Marc.

Marc nodded. "Cool, and hey, maybe we can talk them out of a chick flick."

"Doubt it."

-

Bobby and Jubes were celebrating their one month anniversary by getting some milkshakes at 'Shake Things Up' the new shake place in the mall. They figured that, since it just open, it would need the customers so they would most likely welcome mutants, luckily for them they were right.

They had just finished their shakes and were just, sitting across from each other in a booth, talking.

"Jubes you are so beautiful." He said looking deeply into her eyes.

"Thanks Bobby, you're not so bad yourself." She giggled warmly.

"You really mean it? I'm pretty, oh so pretty?" Bobby joked.

"I wouldn't go that far."

"C'mon Jubes on a scale of 1 to 10?"

"I'd say on a scale of 1 to 10...you're a 5."

"A five?!" He asked, "I don't know how to feel just now." He said trying to sound offended.

"Well you do have some of your chocolate shake above your lip, that's minus 2 points right there." She teased pointing.

He rubbed his face. "Where?" Which smeared it all over.

She couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"What…what?" He asked picking up the napkin dispenser and looked at his reflection, "Oh you think this is funny do ya? I'm gon-na kiss yo-u."

Jubes, giggling, "No, chocolate face, get away!" as Bobby got up and climbed into her side of the booth.

He gave her a big kiss and she didn't resist. She put her arms around his neck and pulling him closer and kissing him back. After a few moments Jubes pulled away and licked the chocolate from her lips, "Mmm, that was a tasty kiss."

"Shall we do it again?" Bobby asked leaning in.

"Sure, I got nothing better to do." She cackled and began to lean towards her again.

"Ahem," The waitress interrupted, "here's your check kids."

"Oh thanks ma'am." Bobby said taking the paper from her hand.

Jubes pulled the check out of his hands and quickly paid the fee and handed the money to the woman.

"Thank you, you kids have a nice day." The waitress said walking away.

"Why do you always do that?" Bobby asked her.

"Because you always forget your wallet."

Sounding like a three year old, he said, "Do not…I remembered it this…" he reached into his pocket then squinted at her, "Touché Jubilee, touché."

"Lets go take in a movie before Ororo picks us up."

"Okay but first we should probably clean our faces."

-

Jubilation looked at Bobby as they were walking. "So what should we go see?"

"How about 'Kill Bill Volume 2' the fourth film by Quentin Tarantino?" He offered, sounding like the movie promo.

She shook her head. "Naw, how about…that one with J.F.K. and Elvis fighting a mummy?"

"That, oddly enough, sounds like…" Bobby trailed off as something attracted his attention. He quickly pulled Jubes behind brick column. "You see what I see?"

She peaked around the side only to see, Scott, Kitty, Jean and Marc. "It's just them, so?"

"So?! We can have some fun with this, if you know what I mean."

She grin slyly. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

They waited for them to get their tickets before getting their own. Scott bought tickets to some Mandy Moore movie, Bobby laughed at that, "Scott is so whipped."

Jubes and Bobby soon followed them into the movie and sat a few rows above them.

Scott and Marc, being the gentlemen they are, went to get the snacks; leaving the pranksters to plot. They returned and Bobby shot a small stream of ice at both Marc's and Scott's seats, they went to sit down and they slipped out of their chairs and onto the sticky ground.

Jean and Kitty, giggled as they helped them up.

"Jubes…we are so good." Bobby said laughing.

Jubes smirked as the previews concluded and the movie started. "Yeah…now it's my turn."

Marc feigned a yawn and position his arm around Kitty, she looked at him, smiled, and put her head on his shoulder. It was time to strike. Jubes shot a little flare at the back of Kitty's neck causing her head to slam into Marc's.

"Kitty!" cried Marc. "What was that about?"

"Sorry." Kitty rubbed her head. "What happened."

"Nice one Jubes."

"I'm not done yet…" She trailed off as she aimed at Jean's big bucket of popcorn and shot another flare. It hit the bucket making it pop up and land on Scott's head, popcorn was everywhere and Jean was laughing.

Bobby and Jubes started to crack up, laughing hysterically. Everyone in the theatre was yelling at them to be quiet; until an usher came over to them. "I'm sorry but I am going to have to ask you to leave."

"Fine…the movie sucked anyways." Bobby said as the were both escorted out of the theatre.

-

"Excuse me Sir, Ma'am would you like to take part in a survey." A man with a clipboard asked people as Jubes and Bobby passed through the doors of the theatre.

"Why not?" Jubes said grabbing two forms, one for her and Bobby.

Looking down the form, Bobby spotted a unusual question,

Check box: If you are a mutant.

"If you're a mutant? What's that supposed to mean?!" Bobby barked.

"Nothing Sir, it's just a question to assist, my association, the F.O.H. in determining a mutant's outlook in area."

"FOH?" Jubes asked, "What does that mean?"

"It stands for 'Finish Off Hatred' we are an organization that believes that humans and mutants can live together in peace without hate."

"Oh, Sorry for snapping at you back there; I'm Bobby and this is Jubilation nice to meet you…" Bobby paused and looked at the mans name tag, "Graydon."

"It's Okay, will you guys fill those out for me though?

"Yeah sure." Jubes said.

They quickly finished the short survey, and were on their way outside to wait for Ororo to pick them up.

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Like I said before, it wasn't that good, but c'mon…I wrote half of it on Morphine…please review.

The Friends of Humanity reference was for later chapters…and don't worry…I know that they weren't Finish Off Hatred…I'm just taking it in my own direction.


	20. Mall Crawl

Disclaimer: Lawyers are bad people who haunt me stories…they're watching.

A.p.R.: YAY! 100 reviews! I wasn't sure if I could ever get this story to a 100 reviews, but I did. I'd like to thank Chaotic Boredom and The Fic Analyzer, without these two I would have never gotten this far. They've both helped me so much throughout this story, thank you both. I would next like to thank animeluvr1 for writing "Bittersweet" that was the story that brought me to It also inspired me to write this fic. And last, but certainty not least, I'd like to thank each and every one of you; the readers. You guys are awesome, thank you…paz.

-----------------------------------------Ahh! Cacti!----------------------------------------

Logan ended Fyreside's training earlier than usual because he said he had something important to do…who's he fooling he has no life. Marc cleaned up then went outside and sat on a bench. He had nothing better to do than and watched as the new recruits finished up their training.

They were doing the drill where you a turret shoots things at them and they have to deflect them using their powers. He chuckled a bit when it was Iceman's turn; he froze two sand bags and they both came back and hit him. He should probably felt bad about laughing but he knew Bobby would've done the same.

It was Magma's turn next. He snickered, knowing that if she messed up he would never let her hear the end of it; just like when she beat him in a pillow fight. She got set for the bags and changed into her Magma form, Marc had never seen this before. She looked different to him now, she looked…he shook the thought and waited for them to finish.

Marc headed over to them afterwards. "Hey guys…any of you want to catch a movie later?"

"No, I've been taking tests all this week and now I just want to relax." Jubes said exhaustedly; everybody agreed and trudged back towards the mansion.

Marc decided to follow them, and walked alongside Amara.

"Hey Marc," Amara pointed to his forehead. "What's that?"

"What…oh this?" Marc said trying to look at his head.

"Yeah…Logan go hard on you today or something?" She said with a smirk.

"Umm…no actually I went into the bathroom when I got up and I dropped my toothpaste." He said with a meek grin. "So I reached down to pick it up and…smashed my head on the counter."

Amara giggled to herself.

He smiled and nudged her playfully with his shoulder; she pushed him, using some force, and he stumbled to the side a bit.

"You been working out?" He asked laughing and she smile flexing her muscles. She scooted a bit towards him slowly, as to not be noticed. She could have sworn that he was going to put his arm around her when Bobby threw a rock at him and he chased after him.

"Stupid boys." Jubes mumble wearily.

-

Amara was changing out of her uniform and into her street clothes when the room phone rang. Amara tripped out of the closets and quickly answered the phone. "Hello."

"Hey 'Mara, what's up?" Tabitha shouted into over the phone.

Amara's eyes lit up when she heard the voice. "Tabby how's it going?"

"Fine, fine…hey I'm in the neighborhood right now. Want me to swing by and pick you up for a little mall crawl?"

She nodded, not that it mattered, Tabby couldn't see her. "I have to be back by four. I have to do another training session with Jean but…that sounds like fun, I'll go get dressed. "

"Yeah that's what I'm talking about see ya soon…and maybe you could shown me that boy you got the hots for."

"Tabitha!" Amara yelled but Tabby had already hung up.

She rolled her eyes and walked back into the closet. "Tabby wouldn't tell him…would she?"

-

Marc was walking through the lobby with an apple in his mouth when he jumped at the sound of someone at the front gate intercom. "He-llo…someone gonna let me in anytime soon? Amara…Elf…Sparkler…anyone?"

He walked over to the intercom and pressed the talk button, mainly out of curiosity. "Hello…who's this?"

"Who's this?" She asked. "Is this Jamie? Dude your voice has changed a lot since I saw ya last."

"No this isn't Jamie, it's Marc." He explained, still having no clue as to who the heck he was talking to.

"Ooo, the newbie, c'mon let me in?" She begged and he, reluctantly, pushed the button to open the gate. She cheered; Marc sighed.

"I'm probably going to get in trouble for this." He mumbled to himself then went outside to greet the guest.

He stood and waited at the fountain as a girl driving a green jeep. It screeched to a half a few feet in front of him. A blond haired girl jumped out the drivers side and walked in a circle around Marc. "She was right, you are cute…but not my type." She said softly.

Marc raised his eyebrow. "What are you talking about? Who are you."

She slightly bent forward and stuck her hand out. "The names Tabitha," He shook her hand. "but you can call me Tabby."

He shrugged and put his thumbs into his pant pockets. "O-kay…Tabby, what are you here for?"

Just then a voice called out. "Tabitha, hi!"

"Amara, there's my girl." Tabby said running over to her.

"So you two know each other?" Marc asked starting to walk over to the two.

"Duh…" Tabby mocked. "I guess you like him for his looks not his brains."

"Wha?" Marc asked, confused.

Tabitha smirked. "Exactly."

"Tabitha." Amara yelled in a whisper.

"So you're the infamous Boom-Boom…cool." He said evenly. "What are you doing here?"

"Me and Tabby are going to go shopping." Amara explained.

Tabitha nodded then her eyes widened, she had an idea. "Hey Marc you look strong…" She trailed off and squeezed his arm. "What say you come out and help us with the bags?" She said from behind him, Amara thought she was going to die of embarrassment.

"Well…um…" Marc started but was already being pulled into the back seat of the jeep. "Okay fine…I'll go." He said not having a choice and took a seat in the back.

Tabitha hopped in the drivers side and started to put some trash on the passengers seat. Amara gave her a look. "Tabby what are you doing?"

"What oh this…yeah this seat is dirty, you'll have to sit in the back, sorry." Tabby explained, with a very obvious wink. So Amara hopped into the back and sat next to Marc. She the scooted her seat back enough so Marc couldn't fit. "Sorry, I need some leg room." Tabby said know that now he would have slide over closer to Amara.

"I'm gonna get you Tabs." Amara thought looking down at her lap, not noticing that Tabitha was trying to say her something, then she looked up and was Marc sitting inches from her. He was wearing a long-sleeved black shirt with grayish pants, his dark brown hair stylishly combed forward, he had that goofy grin on his face and a little patch of facial hair under his bottom lip.

Amara snapped out of it as Tabby started the engine. "Oh I see you've decided to stop drooling and pay attention…now let's get moving!" And with that, the headed for the shopping mall.

-

Tabitha had a content grin as the jeep pulled into a narrow parking spot. She was grinning because of the fact that she didn't crash into anything on the way there. A new record.

"What was that scraping sound?" asked Amara, while she was struggling to take of her seat belt, or untie the rope that Tabby calls 'A Safety Band.'

Tabby stroked her chin and stared forward.

Marc turned his head and looked to the car next to him. It had a scratch on it the size of his fist. "I think we took some paint of that car…"

"Oh, that was there when we got here." coaxed Tabby, after looking back and seeing the discolored mark over the tire of the black Civic.

"I don't think it was."

"Well that's what you get for thinking." She said and slid out the window and started walking off towards the. "You guys coming?"

-

The new mutants are all just lying around the rec-room talking about, well, stuff.

Rahne was on Sam's right and he was petting her. "How da ya think ya did on that math test Bobby?"

"Pretty not so good." Bobby shrugged.

"Well maybe if you studied you would suck so bad." Jubes said from the couch were she was flipping through channels.

"Yeah…I don't think I've ever seen you study." Roberto added.

"I'm happy that I'm one of the dumb ones," Bobby informed. "I like it better that way."

Ray threw a pretzel at him. "Really...why?"

"Well, because there's stuff I know about and there's more stuff that I don't know about, which makes it less stuff that I have to worry about in the big picture." He answered.

"Ye…What…huh…does that even make any sense?" Jubes asked.

Jamie looked over at Jubes. "Wait…he's got a point."

-

Marc crossed his arms across his chest and leaned up against the dressing booth that Amara was in; Tabitha was in the one next to hers.

Tabby kicked open the door and walk out wearing a very, very, orange beanie and a tight long-sleeved shirt that said 'Viva La Bam' on the front.

"What do you think?" She asked doing a little pose. "Is it me?"

Marc opened his mouth to comment, but closed it as he was still speechless.

"Do you like or not?"

"The hat…it's exceedingly orange." commented Marc, evenly.

"Yeah I know isn't it awesome?" She asked rhetorically.

Amara exited the other booth wearing a red tank top with black flower designs on it.

"That is so you 'Mara." Tabby said, breaking her pose.

She turned to Marc and spoke shyly. "So Marc wha…what do think?"

He took a better look at it and thought for a second. She was so nervous, what if he didn't like it? What would she say? "Why isn't he answering?!" She thought.

"I really like it, you look real good…in it." Marc stated, adding the last part a bit nervously.

Amara blushed then quickly looked down at her shoes to hide it. "Th..thanks."

Marc laughed as he noticed her cheeks turning red. Amara punched him on the arm and they both laughed.

Tabby just stood there looking at the two, she knew Amara liked him by the way she stared at him. "Okay I think we'll get these outfits…be a doll and put these back, thanks." She tossed the clothes that she didn't like to Marc and quickly went back into the booth to change.

Amara smile, shrugged and slipped into the other booth to do the same then tossed the clothes she didn't like clothes over the door to Marc.

Marc sighed and reluctantly tried to find where each garment went, he found where most of them belonged. But now it was time to enter, no man's land or more commonly known as women's lingerie, to put back the rest of the stuff.

"C'mon Marc you can do this…in out done…that's all there is too it." He said to himself as he began walking in.

Marc was walking around with the bras in his hands for a while not really knowing where to put them. He began getting some strange looks from the other customers and some of the women that worked there. "They're for a friend, okay." He shouted and all the onlookers looked away.

He looked around him, there were all these numbers he didn't know what they meant or why they were there. He was so confused, he just decided to try to match up the size of the undergarments.

"Need any help? I'll take care of those for you." A women said tapping him on the shoulder.

He turned to look at her. "Oh…um..yeah, thanks." He replied and handed her the things and walked away back to them.

"Hurry up dude, what took you so long." shouted Tabitha from outside the store with bags in her hand and Amara beside her.

"How long are we gonna be here anyways?" Marc asked walking between Tabby and Amara.

"As long as it takes Marky Mark." teased Tabby.

Amara was giggling at Marc's new nickname. "Marky Mark, that suits you well."

They continued to walk through the mall and using Marc's nickname quite frequently.

Marc sighed then shrugged. "Are you guys ever going to get tired of that?"

"Nope!" The two shouted in unison and continued to have a good laugh at his expense.

-

At the food court, Amara and Tabitha were waiting in line at the Chinese food place; Marc was at Subway ordering a sandwich.

Tabitha was twirling her tray a bit. "Hey 'Mara, you like Marc right?"

"Yeah." She replied tucking some of her hair behind her ears.

"Well then do some flirtin' girl." Tabby said loudly making Amara blush. "Make him know that you want him…make him sweat." She added with a sly grin.

"But he's already dating Kitty?"

"So?!"

"She asked him before I did."

Tabitha put her tray on the counter and pointed to what she wanted. "Who cares? You like him you're allowed to like him."

"Kitty is my friend." Amara shot back, taking the beef and broccoli dish the employee and sliding towards the check out.

"Yeah, well so am I and I say do it." Tabby said searching for some money in her pockets standing in front of the cashier.

"Even if I did tell him how I feel…he probably doesn't like me like that."

"Are you kidding me?" Tabs said with wide eyes. "Look at him next time he talks to you…you can tell that he likes you."

Amara was a little stunned at this, she had liked Marc since they met but wasn't sure if he had liked he back. Was Tabitha right? Did he like her? What if he didn't? Was-

"Yeah you kinda need to pay girls." The cashier's voice snapped Amara out of her trance. "Thank you." She said after Tabby handed her the money.

"Hey gals I got us a seat over here." Shouted Marc from a table behind them. They grabbed their trays and headed over to the table to have lunch.

-

During their lunch the had a heated conversation, basically an argument, about who had the best power out of the three, they had decided to walk it off.

Tabitha's eyes suddenly locked on to a photo booth. "C'mon!" She said pulling Marc by the wrist towards the booth.

Marc grabbed Amara's hand and dragged her along. "If I go I'm taking you with me."

Tabby slid in and quickly deposited the money. She then yanked Marc in next to her and he pulled Amara, who landed on his lap. "Tabby!" They pair yelled.

The first picture was taken and showed Marc and Amara yelling at her.

The second one showed Tabitha cracking up at the two blushing just realizing their positions.

The third had Amara and Marc making funny faces and Tabby flipping off the camera.

The fourth was of Tabitha and Amara kissing each side of Marc's cheeks.

-

The New Mutants had finished their conversation and, unanimously, agreed that Bobby was dumb. Since there was nothing to do, they decided to watch a DVD. They chose to watch 'Pirates of the Caribbean.'

"Hmm…" Bobby said.

Rahne tilted her head. "What're laughin' at?"

Bobby leaned forward in his seat on the couch. "Have you ever noticed that there was a lot of eye accidents back in the pirate days?"

"What'd'ya mean?" asked Sam.

"Well, I mean like, they all had eye patches…what's with that?"

Ray nodded. "Oh…I see."

"Bad optometrists?" offered Jamie.

"That's a possibility."

Bobby still didn't seem satisfied. "The optometrists may have been bad but still…could they really be that bad though?"

Silence.

The quiet ended as a thought crossed Jubilations mind. "You know how they had those hook thing too? Well, maybe, it's like they woke up in the morning and weren't quite used to the hook and went to rub their eyes and…"

-

"How many stores have we hit?" Marc complained as he was carrying about fifteen bags from different stores.

Tabby rolled her eyes. "Stop your whining, you offered to come along."

"You dragged me along."

"Stop exaggerating."

"No seriously you dragged me into the car."

"Details, details."

Amara sighed. "Let's go home it's been four hours."

"Fine by me." Marc murmured through the boxes.

Tabitha smirked and push her palm against one of the bags Marc was carrying. Marc toppled over and all the bag fell on him. "Right this way." She said laughing and walked out the mall doors.

-

Before Tabitha drop them off back at the institute, she decided to stop at the music store, Karma, first.

Tabby was doing a little dance with the stores demo headsets on; Marc was browsing through the new CDs; Amara was listening to one of her favorite bands on headphones.

__

How many days have you just slept away?

Is everybody high?

Is everyone afraid?

How many times have you wished you were strong?

Have they ever seen your heart?

Have they ever seen your pain?

Amara started to move her body to the lyrics; Marc came over and leaned in to listen to the song. She scooted closer to him and he wrapped his arm around her. They looked at each other and smiled.

Tabby just stared and watched them bobbing their heads to the sound. "They really do look cute together." She looked down at her watch. "Damn, 3:50." She didn't want to but she had to.

Amara pulled the headphones off and looked at him. "So you like Our Lady Peace?"

"Yeah, I love them I use to have all their CD's back home." He replied looking into her eyes.

"Cool I wish I had them. I just have to catch them on the radio."

Tabby stepped in between them. "Sorry to break up this Kodak moment but we gotta go."

"Oh…okay lets go then." Amara said then followed Tabitha out the door. "Hey Marc are you coming or what?"

"Umm, yeah I'm just going to get a soda for the road be out in a sec." He said.

"Sure okay." Amara gave a confused shrug and her and Tabby headed to the jeep.

Marc walked out of the store about a minute later and hopped in the backseat with Amara and Tabby took off towards the institute.

"Hey where's your soda?" asked Amara.

He looked at her like she was speaking gibberish. "What are you talking about?"

"A soda, you said you where gonna grab one for the road."

"Heh, I guess I forgot." Marc said with a small smile. "Hey Amara I got you something."

"Why? You didn't have to."

He pulled a small bag with the music stores logo on it from his cargo pants pocket and handed it to her. "I know I just wanted to is all."

She opened the bag and pulled out two Our Lady Peace CDs. "Thanks!" She said and latched herself to him with a hug.

"You're welcome." He said putting one arm around her.

Tabby looked at them in the rearview mirror and smiled. "Yeah…I'm good."

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The lyrics were from, "Life" by Our Lady Peace.


	21. Sleepless

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men, Sealab 2021, 20/20, or any thing else but the idea and Marc Maseon.

Thanks for the reviews folks!

---------------------------------------Let's go to work------------------------------------

Marc tossed in his bed; he could not sleep. He tried everything from counting sheep to banging his head on the wall, but that just made Amara grumble in her sleep.

"Why can't I sleep?" He thought, becoming annoyed by his sleeplessness. He rolled onto his side, looked at Amara then smiled. "She looks so cute when she's asleep..." He broke the train of thought immediately.

What was coming over him lately? Ever since that day at the mall with her and Tabitha, he could not stop thinking about her. She was in his dreams, whether bad or good. He even wrote her name down as an answer for his Biology homework. When she was near him, his heart beat faster and a chill shot up his spine…but it was not a bad chill. It felt good. But when she would leave, he would just feel cold.

He could not explain it, everyday he tried but just couldn't. He had not even thought of the possibility that he liked her. Ever since he arrived at the institute, she felt like a younger sister or a best friend to him. Why did he feel drawn to her now? It was like this feeling that made him want to just wrap his arms around her and kiss her.

She was just so stunning to him in so many ways. But what was it? Her giggle, her smile, her walk, and the way she blushed when he complimented her. Could it have been her beautiful body? Was that was causing all of this? Or was it because of her? The two thought alike, at times, even finishing each other's sentences. Though she had only been in America for a short time, she was so much smarter than he was but she was still trying to grasp the fine art of sarcasm. He was teaching her by applying it to her daily.

This decision was tough. He was not sure if his attraction to Amara was just a creation of his raging teenage hormones or something more. So when his mind drifted to Amara he made himself bring up a mental image of Kitty.

Kitty was his girlfriend: sweet, honest, kind, beautiful, loving. What more could a guy want? He would never do anything to hurt her, especially cheat on her. He honestly loved her, which is what was making this so hard.

He could not stand to break Kitty's heart over uncertainty. He couldn't stand to break it period. They were in love, they were a cute couple, and they were friends. Everything was perfect until he had to go and develop these feeling for Amara.

Marc closed his eyes for a few moments, giving sleeping another try, and then reopened them. He yawned then slid out of bed, quietly so Amara wouldn't wake. He got up and walked up to the mirror on the wall. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked to the left as something caught his eye off to the corner. It was the pictures of that mall trip; he picked them up off her dresser. He looked at them one at a time then he got to the one with Tabby and Amara kissing him.

He smiled as he remembered when they had gotten home Kitty noticed that he had lipstick on both cheeks. He told her some improved story about how it got there. He hit clenched his fists as he became disgusted with himself. He had already started to lie to Kitty for no good reason. Why?

He looked behind him to Amara. There was a little voice in his head, it told him to tell her how he felt. The other voice however, told him to just go back to sleep. He was so confused. He had feelings for two great girls and they for him; he should be incredibly happy. He was not.

Amara sat up in her and blinked a few time to adjust her vision then looked at Marc as he was looking at the pictures. She slid out of her bed, walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He jumped and she laughed.

"Don't do that." Marc said, trying to regain his composure.

She giggled then smiled at him; he felt a chill. "Marky Mark, what are you doing up it's like one?"

"Just thinking." He said intentionally trying not to look at her.

Amara moved so that she was facing him. "About what?"

Marc wanted to tell her about everything, right there, right then. He wanted to tell her how he felt, how he felt about Kitty, how he was losing sleep over the two. But could he? "Nothing really."

She sighed then smiled. "I'm not going to leave you alone until you tell me."

"I'm just thinking about how I can help to prevent forest fires." He explained, dryly.

Amara raised an eyebrow. "Why? That's a weird thing to think about this late at night."

Marc rolled his eyes. "Still haven't grasped sarcasm yet, huh?"

"Don't do that, you know it bugs me." She replied with an elbow to his gut. "So really, what are you thinking about?" She ran her hands through his hair and made it stick out every which way.

He felt his heartbeat quicken to her touch. "Really it's nothing…and um…Yeah thanks for doing that by the way." He said looking at his hair in the mirror.

"No problem." teased Amara with a sly grin. "Is it something about the pictures?"

"No…" He replied and set them down but one of them fell to the floor.

"I'll get that." They said simultaneously then laughed.

Marc bent down, picked it off the ground then set them with the rest but accidentally knocked a bottle of perfume off the dresser and it rolled behind her. When she bent over to pick it up Marc could not help but look at her butt; she turned to look at him, still bent over, and saw him staring at her and blushed. He did the same when he realized that he had been caught.

Marc panicked a bit. "Nice design on your PJs."

Amara stood up and set the bottle on the counter. "Umm…there aren't any designs on them."

"Oh…I meant…um…colors." He nodded. "Yep, that's what I meant."

She smirked at him nudged him with her shoulder. "Suuure."

Marc could feel his body heat rising and his heart racing. "Is it hot in here?" He asked to no one in particular.

She shrugged.

Marc turned away from her and walked to the other side of the room then took his shirt off. She felt her legs get wobbly as she saw this, all those hours in the weight room really paid off for him. The thing that caught her eye the most was his six-pack she saw when he turned back to her.

"Sorry Amara, I'll put my shirt back on."

"It's okay your hot and I don't mind looking…." She trailed off as she stared. He shrugged and threw it off to the side of the room. He watched as she was staring at him.

"She something you like?" He asked with a smirk, snapping her out of her trance.

She blushed. "Yeah…wait no...kinda."

"What do you mean Amara?"

"Shut up and kiss me." She said pressing her body to his. Her lips captured his in a kiss.

They moved closer to her bed and she pushed him onto it. He stood back up a gently kissed her neck his hand moving under her shirt and she let out a faint moan. She pushed him back on the bed, straddled his hips then there lips met once more.

Marc ran his hands up and down her back under her shirt. He pulled away and began to pull her shirt off when Kitty walked through the door.

Kitty walked over to him, with Amara in only a bra on his waist and still kissing his neck. "Hey Marc, so when do you want to get married?"

Marc's mouth hung open. Was she blind? How can she not see what was happening? "Wha?"

Kitty bent over and kissed him on the nose. "Silly, I'm not mad just because you have a half naked girl on top of you." She smiled. "I'm cool with it...right Amara?"

Amara sat up and smiled at Kitty then went back to kissing Marc.

Marc had no clue as to what was going on or whether he should be happy or confused. "Umm…I am completely lost?"

"Well maybe you should have studied." Amara said.

"For wh-" But before he could even finish his sentence he was now sitting in a desk at Bayville high. "What the fu-"

"For today's test on fidelity." snapped Kitty who was now dressed like a teacher. "You have ten seconds to and answer all fifty questions begin."

Marc, having no clue what to do, started trying to answer as many as he can when a balled piece of paper hit him in the head. He turned to see Amara whispering at him. "Psst…hey what's the answer to number M?"

Marc's face was that of pure confusion. "I don't-"

Kitty slammed a ruler onto her desk making a loud sound. "Mr. Maseon you fail! Don't you know that there is no talking on tests?"

"I didn't it was her." He pleaded.

Kitty began tapping her foot. "There is no 'her' behind you, Maseon."

"She's right here…" Marc said turning to look behind him. Amara was not there but Bobby was.

Bobby sighed. "Marc, Marc, Marc…haven't you learned not to listen to my dares?" He said and Marc raised an eyebrow. "Remember earlier tonight Beast was watching 20/20 and I found a Jelly Bean under the couch and I told you to eat it and I'd give you a dollar."

Marc nodded.

Bobby shrugged. "That's the cause of all of this."

"Wait…Hank wasn't watching 20/20." Marc stated.

"Really? I could've sworn he was…oh well. I guess we'll just have to send Barbara Walters back."

"What?!"

"Nothing." Bobby said immediately. "Sorry that this hasn't helped you with your dilemma, it actually probably has made it worse. I mean, before you just questioned who you had feelings for…but now you question your sanity also."

Marc scratched the back of his head.

"Now it's time to wake up…I'm Bobby Drake bitch!" He said and slapped Marc.

Marc woke up with Amara slapping him, trying to get him awake for his training. "Wake up."

"Amara I'm awake…please stop hitting me." Marc said and sat up on the corner of his bed.

"Good I've been trying for fifteen minutes." She announced a little angrily.

"Sorry I just am not feeling too hot." Marc said holding his stomach then stood up and walked towards the bathroom.

"What is the lesson here?" He thought. "Never eat an ancient jelly bean just because someone will pay you a dollar for it…and note to self: get revengence on Bobby."

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That was a little weird but it got some things out of the way. There is always a method to madness…

I was wondering…who do you guys think Tabby should go out with in this story? This will help for future chapters, so please let your voice be heard.


	22. The Night Before

Disclaimer: Disclaimer? See previous chapter...

------------------If you can dodge a ball, you can dodge a wrench-----------------

In the Danger Room, early in the morning, Marc was hitting a punching bag as Logan watched near by. Logan walked over to a small control panel, press a few buttons and then several projectiles launched at Fyreside.

Marc kicked the bag then dodged a razor disk; two sand bags were coming at him and he blasted them, incinerating them instantly. A shot put shot at him and he fell to the ground to avoid the contact, now on the ground, a seventy-pound medicine ball fell from above and he rolled out of the way. Quickly getting to his feet, Marc was met with a sand bag to the chest and another that he blocked with his…face.

Logan walked over and held out his hand, Marc grabbed it and Logan pulled him to his feet. "Thanks," Marc said. "Sorry about screwing up there."

Logan gave him a, rarely seen, half smile. "Ya did better then ever b'fore. I think we've completed your training."

Marc's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"No kidding?"

"Yes."

"For seriously?"

"Marc!"

"I'm done then?"

Logan growled, not out of anger that's just what he does. "You'll be joining with the New Mutants in a week."

"A week?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "Why so long?"

Logan sighed. "You get the week off." He, reluctantly, explained.

"Sweet…do I get a diploma?"

"No."

"Darn."

-

Rogue walked through the crowded hallways of Bayville High looking for a writing utensil. It seems that Kitty had replaced hers with pink fuzzy pens, that she was forced to use half the day, as payback for Rogue giving some of her stuffed animals tattoos. Which was completely unfair of Kitty, Rogue thought Mr. Dragon looked quite fetching with that black pentagram on his forehead.

"Hey Bobby, can Ah borrow a pen?" Rogue asked walking up to his locker.

"Hey Rogue you catching a ride with Kitty or Scott?" Bobby queried as he began to walk away.

"Neither, Ah'm walkin' today."

"You've been walking home a lot lately."

"Yeah, so?" She snapped, stomping her foot.

"It was just a statement, nothing meant." Bobby replied, walking away.

"Good!" She yelled crossing her arms.

-

Mrs. Potter was trying to drown Marc's snoring out most of the class, but now he was sleep talking.

"Mr. Maseon!"

Marc jumped up in his seat with a paper stuck to his face from his drooling, "I'm taking notes!" He started scribbling on his desk.

"Marc this is the third time this week," Her anger was becoming visible, "and it's only Monday!"

"Sorry Mrs. Potter, it won't happen again." Marc apologized wiping the sleep from his eyes; his training was making him tired.

"Now Marc if you don't learn the details of isosceles trapezoids and the mysterious dodecagons where do you expect to be in ten years?"

"Yes Mrs. Potter." Marc said flatly

"Asking 'Do you want fries with that?' that's where."

"Yes Mrs. Potter."

(A/N: that was a word for word conversation that I had with my teacher earlier this year.)

-

Well there was one reason, after all, why Rogue was walking home more often. No, it was to firm her buns and thighs or to train for cross-country; it was so she could be with him. Though Remy was welcomed by the Professor, Logan was another story…even after the Professor talked to him he still does not take too kindly to it. A place where you have to worry if Logan is going to bust into a room and try to impale Remy every other second is not a very calming setting. So, she walks and he's always there. Everyday.

"I've been waitin' fo' ya, Chere." Remy announce charmingly as Rogue came into sight.

"Well Ah've got school." She said strongly.

"Well school did not'ing fo' Remy, here let me take those," He took her books from her and carried them, "an' look at me now."

Rogue smiled warmly. "Yeah, ya talk in the third person, not ta mention write in it, ya have poor grammar…"

"Okay…point taken." He said and put his arm around her, being careful not to touch her skin.

-

After school, Marc was digging through the fridge at the institute when Kitty walked in.

"Hey whatcha doing?" She said sitting on the counter.

"Just looking for something to snack on." He said walking over to her with a granola bar in his hand. Kitty pulled it from is hand, tossed it to the other counter, and kissed him.

"Oh that reminds," Kitty said, hopping off the counter. "Tell the others to not eat too much, I'm cooking tonight. Thanks." Before Marc could say a word, she was already out the door.

About twenty minutes later Kurt bamfed into the room and went for an apple. "Oh hey Kurt, Kitty said to not to eat too much because she's cooking tonight."

Kurt's jaw dropped along with his apple. "RED ALERT! I REPEAT RED ALERT!"

Marc jumped, shocked by the whole thing.

Kurt ran around the institute shouting at the top of his lungs. "THIZ IZ NOT A DRILL!"

All that was heard was doors slamming and a few screams. Logan walked out of his room to see what the fuss was about, Kurt ran past him screaming and he just spun around calmly and walked back into his room.

Marc walked into the front room. "Hello…anybody?" His voice echoed. He began to walk around the institute searching for someone…or any signs of life for that matter. A door behind him opened and several arms pulled him in.

"Sit him down." a voice said and he could feel people pushing him down into a chair. "Listen to me and listen good." As if on cue, Sam turned the lamp on. "You're still relatively new so we don't expect you to know, but Kitty is a God awful cook." Jubes said.

Marc raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? And why did you pull me in here?"

"She singed me tail last year!" Rahne growled.

"Yeah, an' she was just makin' sushi." added Sam.

Bobby walked over to Marc. "Listen I'm telling you, as your friend, do-not-eat-her-cooking."

"Okay, okay, now just let me go." Marc said breaking free from their grasps. "Thanks for the warning guys."

"You're welcome and Marc…no one needs to know about this." Jubes said menacingly, with that the lights turned off, and Marc exited.

Silence.

"Why are we still standing in the dark?" asked Ray.

Jubes swung her arm, basically a shot in the dark.

"Oww…who hit me?"

Jubes cringed. "Sorry Amara…" She swung her other arm back.

A thud was heard and Bobby grunted. "Jubes, watch it."

"Sorry, but you probably deserved it."

Silence.

"Umm…guys I'm a little afraid of the dark." Jamie whined; Sam turned on the light. "That's better."

-

"You have the stuff?" The man asked as he entered the large chrome laboratory, the doors swooshed shut behind him.

The younger man sighed and ceased his current activities so he could tend to the matter at hand. "You know it; I even took the liberty of making some extra adjustments for you."

"All I asked was for-" The man started but was cut off.

"Hey I know what you're gonna say, but why settle when you can get a super groo-" He was cut off.

"Fine they'll do, but next time just listen to what I ask for." The older man snarled.

-

Kitty was in the kitchen slicing up carrots and putting them in boiling water, as Scott walked in.

"Smells good Kitty what are you making?" Scott asked intrigued by the surprisingly pleasant aroma.

Kitty's face brightened. "Thanks Scott, I'm making…you know I'm not sure, I couldn't decide. So I just decided to wing it and create something."

Scott winced. "Sounds good, I hope it turns out…edible." The last part Scott mumbled.

-

Marc was starving, he didn't eat lunch because he was lectured by his geometry teacher and didn't eat breakfast because of his stupid alarm clock.

"Dinner's served!" Kitty exclaimed, and the mansion's tenants, minus Xavier he said he had paperwork to do…no one bought that, came down slowly dragging their feet. To their surprise, Logan was already down there pouring drinks.

"My, my Logan, that's very polite of you to do that." Ororo complemented.

Logan scowled. "Don't get used to it; this is only a one time thing."

Ororo smiled and took a glass from Logan.

Everyone had a seat and began to poke at their plates…maybe to see what it was or maybe just to see if it was dead. Whatever it was no one wanted to touch it, let alone eat it.

"C'mon Marc taste it." Kitty begged.

Marc downed his glass of lemonade and picked up a spoonful, everyone inhaled deeply.

"No kid." Logan thought to himself.

"Umm…Kitty, where's the salt?" Jamie asked cutely,

"Oh silly me I left it in a bag in the car, be right back." She said.

"N-ow!" Evan announced making sure Kitty was gone first, everyone finally exhaled.

"I owe you Jamie." Marc said.

"You better believe it."

Everyone jumped up and quickly scooped as much of the substance as possible onto their napkins, Marc just played along. Suddenly Kitty's voice rang through the halls and everyone dashed back to their seats.

"Hey guys I found…why are you all out of breathe?" Kitty asked, tapping her foot.

"We just scarfed your food, man was it tasty." Evan said rubbing his stomach.

"I'm glad you liked it." Kitty said cheerfully. "Now who wants seconds?"

"NO!" Everyone shouted.

"I think what we're trying to say is…RUN!" Bobby said as he ran out of the room.

"We'll save it for tomorrow Kitty," Jean said picking up a few plates, "I'll help you with the dishes."

"O-kay." Kitty thought aloud as she watched them all leave the dining room. "Oh hey, Marc come here."

Marc turned and walked up to his girlfriend. "Yeah Kit?"

She looked at him with her head lilted to the side and ran a hand through his uncombed hair. "Sooo…what did you think?"

He put his hand on her shoulder and smiled. "…well, Kitty, I can say that it was the best…." He paused and though for a second, he couldn't figure out what the Hell it was. "…whatever it was I had ever had."

She squeaked and smiled cheerfully before latching herself onto him with a hug. "I so glad you liked it." She hugged him tighter. "I can't wait to cook for you again."

He smiled feebly as she squeezed the air from his lungs. "Can't…lungs…oxygen." He, mockingly, gasped for air.

She released him for her hug of death and smile humbly. "Sorry, but I'm just so happy you liked it."

He smiled at her warmly, put his hand to her cheek and drew her lips to his. She smiled into the kiss then wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.

Jean was looking for her. "Kitty, where are you? Did you forget that YOU were supposed to help me clean the…" She trailed off and smiled as she saw the two kissing. "Or are you a little busy at the moment?"

Kitty ceased her actions and turned to Jean. "Sorry…I completely forgot."

"I'll meet you back in the kitchen." Jean announced and took her leave.

Kitty turned back to Marc. "I gotta go help Jean now…" He trailed off as he began kissing her neck; she pushed him back before she could not resist. "No, I have to go." She said, kissed him, and walked into the kitchen.

He smiled and watched her walk away. Suddenly Marc put his hand to his head and almost fell over, he began felling dizzy. He shook it off and just figured that it was due to the early training.

He waited for the dizziness to stop before going out and meeting up with the others.

"You guys up for watching a movie?" Roberto asked as the new mutants left the dining room and headed for the rec-room. Everyone agreed.

"I'm out…I'm feeling a little funny, I think I'm gonna crash for the night." Marc said, walking away from the group to his room.

"Dude, it's only seven?" Evan shouted towards Marc, but he just kept walking.

When Marc got to his room he put on his nightclothes, plopped onto his bed, and fell into a deep sleep.

-

"Flying Crocodile!" Jamie yelled.

"Flying Shark!" Roberto shouted back.

"What are you two arguing about now?!" A perturbed Jubilation snapped.

"You're smart Jubes: if a Flying Shark battled a Flying Crocodile in a battle where there could be no winners, who would win?" asked Jamie.

"I'd have to say the…shut-up-before-I-smack-you-both!" Jubes said gesturing as if she was ready to swing.

"You two are so immature." Bobby said holding Jubes' arm back. "Jubes why don't you just go over there and help Rahne and Amara pick out a movie and cool down a little."

"Thanks Bobby." She said and walked away.

He watched her leave, when he was sure she was out of earshot, he quickly turned back to Jamie and Roberto. "Put me down for Flying Croc."

-

Cold air blew tiny shards of snow onto his face, stinging him each time. He shivered involuntarily as his limp hand grazed the snowy ground below. His palm opened and gripped a handful of snow but quickly pulled away when he felt the cold burn him. Unconscious he lays there, on a sleeping bag in the snow.

"Wake up!" A voiced boomed in his ears, _"Get ready it's time."_

He slowly opened his eyes, but quickly shut them as the cold air dried them out. He finally was able to keep his eyes open, he looked around and saw nothing but snow and trees surrounding him.

"Where…where the Hell am I?" Marc thought…

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	23. 24 1of3

Disclaimer: Drugs kill dreams…and no dreams deserve to die, they didn't do anything wrong…okay never mind. I don't own anything but the idea and Marc Maseon.

A.p.R. - Wow…thanks to all my reviewers. You guys rock…or roll whichever you prefer.

--------------Does anyone but me notice how much fire I'm not on?--------------

Cold air blew tiny shards of snow onto his face, stinging him each time. He shivered involuntarily as his limp hand grazed the snowy ground below. His palm opened and gripped a handful of snow but quickly pulled away when he felt the cold burn him. Unconscious he lays there, on a sleeping bag in the snow.

"Wake up!" A voiced boomed in his ears, _"Get ready it's time."_

He slowly opened his eyes, but quickly shut them as the cold air chilled them. He finally was able to keep his eyes open, he looked around and saw nothing but snow and trees surrounding him.

"Where…where the Hell am I?" Marc thought.

"Hurry up I don't got all day!" Said the voice, amplified by a P.A. system. 

"Where…where the hell am I? How did I get here, who are you?!" He demanded.

"The names James, kid, and that's all you need to know." The voice growled.

"James…whoever you are, what do you want with me?"

"Just for you to take a test."

"What kind of test?!"

"A survival test; if you pass you survive if you fail you die."

"And if I refuse?!"

"You Die. To make this a little more interesting I've hidden supplies and clothes around this forest behind you."

"You have to be kidding me." Marc mumbled.

"No joke kid. It's 11:00 pm, you'll have 24 hours starting now if you live you pass, do anything to survive."

He stood there in only his PJs, which consisted of no more than shorts and a tank top. A gun shot rang out, he hit the ground, "What the hell?!" He yelled leaping up and sprinting off into the forest with shots firing behind him.

He was running like he never ran before; dodging branches, hurdling bushes and logs. He had no clue what was going on, all he could think of was the shots behind him, all he knew was he didn't feel to fondly about being shot. All of a sudden no shots could be heard, he stopped, his feet cold and bleeding from running over the twigs and rocks on the frozen snowy ground.

"How far did I run? Does it really matter?" Marc thought.

Right that instant, something caught his eye. "No it couldn't be…it is…" It was his uniform hanging on a tree. It looked warm; he crept over to it and was within a few feet, "Just a little farther," Marc said reaching for it, "got it!"

As he grabbed it, he heard a snap and jumped out of the way. Luckily, his good hearing saved him from that barrel of water that probably was meant to send him into a state of hypothermia. This James guy clearly was not playing around.

After quickly sliding into the uniform and putting on the shoes, he found under a fresh pile of snow, he gathered a bunch of twigs from the ground, piled them and tried to torch them but it wasn't working. "God damnit work!" He kept trying and was about to go crazy.

'Wait, they're not lighting because they're wet…I am so stupid!' He thought then began to gather some rocks, twigs, and small branches off the trees. He put the sticks on the rocks and the ignited them. That feeling you get when you are truly happy, it was nothing compared to how he felt sitting there close to the fire.

"1:37 am, you're doing all right but you still have 22 hours." The voice rang out.

What he would not give just to meet this guy and give him a beating. Flashlights turned on, where did they come from? All around him. Run!

"Running and running and more running is that all I'm going to be doing for the next twenty-something more hours, oh yeah, I can't forget the not dieing part." He thought with in his panicked state of mind.

The running wasn't as bad this time because of the shoes. In addition, there was some good news, he beloved that his feet were healed; the bad news is that he couldn't feel them.

"How are they keeping up with me…wait no they're catching up to me! Is that a cave? Could I hide out there for awhile?" He had to lose them first or he was going to be as good as caught. As good as dead.

He did a 180 and, all in one quick motion, lit the path around him in a brilliant blaze, enough so it would not be able to be passed through unless they had a huge fire extinguisher or a lot of water. He did not even take the time to admire his handiwork he just made a beeline for that dark and dank cavern that could be his only hope for sanctuary. For survival. It was as was to be expected, it was dark and damp the only good thing besides it hiding him from "them" was since he was inside the wintry draft couldn't reach him.

He used his hand as a torch to navigate his way around the cave and even though he had been here for only a few minutes and he couldn't hear "their" steps anymore. That was a calming thought to him as his heart was going a mile a minute. He sat on a nearby rock, hoping to ease his body, but as soon as he did, all of his muscles tightened up and he fell to the ground. He looked at himself for the first time since he had put the uniform on, his uniform had been torn and bloody, and knew why. Even with Logan's temperature training, his body could not take the extreme cold. His stomach growled and realized that he was starving. He hadn't eaten the night before because Kitty was cooking and the others told him that he was better off not eating.

Unexpectedly, a sound of the grass crunching outside was heard. He closed his eyes and tried to focus directly on it, it was directly outside the cave! A light shown into the cave and though it didn't spot anyone inside, it came very close to. "They" gave up and continued searching, but he waited until he could not hear footsteps anymore. He also made a very weird observation, he couldn't hear "them" breathing. He though maybe he was going crazy, but could have sworn that "they" didn't breathe.

His wounds where healing, he could hardly feel them. So spreading his hands out to try, against the will of his battered body, to force myself to his feet. However, when he pushed he felt razor sharp pain rippling throughout his left palm. He stopped himself from shouting by nearly biting his tongue off.

He carefully felt around the floor of the cave to find the cause of this pain. He lit his pointer finger, just barely so he could see but not be seen. It was a small hunting knife; he grabbed it and slid it into his bootstrap.

"I could use it to defend myself." He thought then his stomach growled and find food. "It's convenient that this is here…wait…James said he'd left… supplies…Shit he knows I'm here."

Several lights suddenly lit the cave with a brilliant, almost blinding, light. He had no choice. He had to run…

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Horrible place to end the chapter, I know…but…oh well. The next two will make up for it.

Please Review.


	24. 24 2of3

Disclaimer: I own nothing besides Marc Maseon and the idea…or do I? Now that's something to think about…

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::Tell that to Disco Granny:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

-----------------------------------------3:59 am--------------------------------------------

It seemed that James had given up…for now. He was actually able to walk and rest. The fatigue from the running and the hunger pains were beginning to set in. He picked up a big rock and saw these little white wormy things.

"I hate bugs, they are nasty and disgusting and there is no way I am going to eat those." That was at least what his mind was saying; his stomach didn't care much. It was growling so hard it started to hurt. He reached for one, it slithered out of his hand but he eventually got a hold of it. He lifted it above his waiting mouth. "God, what I wouldn't give for some of Kitty's tofu thingies?" He said to himself as lowered the slimy grub into his mouth and swallowed it. Marc shivered as he felt it sliding down his gullet into his empty stomach. He took a deep breathe and felt fine. "That wasn't that bad-." He doubled over and threw up.

He couldn't handle it. He couldn't eat another of those vile, horrible and just plain unpleasant creatures. He didn't want to but…he had to hunt.

He began to go into stealth mode, like Wolverine taught him, as he saw this little rabbit. It was very fast so it became clear that he would have to stay one-step ahead of it. "Come here little bunny, I wont hurt you." A twig snapped under his foot and the rabbit scampered away. He gave chase but it was too fast and he was too weak from hunger to pursue it further. It looks like worms are on the menu tonight, so he went back to the moss covered rock.

He looked back at the grubs under the rock; he picked up a sharp stick and impaled three of the insects, then cooked them over his palm.

The Lion King lied, they didn't taste like chicken, but they were very filling. Marc scooped up a fresh pile of snow, melted it the cupped his hand to his mouth and drank the water. The breakfast of champions, grubs and water. A loud cracking sound caught his ear and he looked up to see a giant tree falling towards him.

He dropped everything and dived into a roll as the tree came crashing down nearly missing his feet. He looked around suspiciously, when he was sure the danger had passed, he turned to where he was sitting before; he would have been crushed like his breakfast. The trunk of the tree was over the mossy rock; there was no hope of getting anymore grubs from there. "My grubs…I was going to eat those!" He stood there and thought about what he just said. "I cannot believe…I just said that."

He shook his head and cautiously made his way towards the fallen tree. He examined the break in the trunk; it was not a break at all something cut it. Maybe with an axe…no it couldn't have been, he would have heard the chopping. This was done quickly and cleanly; it was cut almost all the way through and then was probably tipped over and that created the cracking sound that he had heard.

This was getting weird, something was not right here…besides the whole 'surviving the test or die' thing. He had this feeling that…

A shot rang out and Marc felt a terrible burning sensation in his arm; he cried out in pain. He whimper and looked at his right arm, it was a lacerated bullet wound. He got to his feet and ran, keeping his injured arm close to his body, dodging branches and jumping over stones. Though he heard no other shots, he wasn't about to stick around and get hit.

When Marc felt a safe distance away, he stopped and hid behind a large rock he then sat and leaned against it. He tore the Lycra material, that his uniform was made of, off from around the bleeding wound. He knew what he had to do now.

He took a deep breath, closed his and dug his fingers in the bullet hole. He bit his lip to keep himself from yelling as his fingers twisted and wormed their way into his flesh and muscle. A few tears streamed down Marc's cheek, this was the worst physical pain he had ever experienced. As he searched for the bullet he felt his lacerated skin stretch and the felt it retract; he had to hurry or his body would begin to heal around it. His digits finally touch against the hard metal bullet that was lodged in his bicep; he pinched it between two fingers and began extracting it. This was by far the worst part of the entire incident.

It coarsely slipped out of the gashed appendage. Marc held the bullet between the thumb and index finger of his trembling, bloody hand. He held at eye level and studied it. He could have sworn it was bigger it actually was; it felt like it was the size of an ice cube instead of a glass marble. "The others have to be worried and looking for me by now..."

-

The New Mutants are standing outside the Danger Room waiting for their morning session with Beast to begin.

Bobby turned to Sam. "Hey what's for lunch at school today?"

"Umm…I think chicken fingers and curly fries." replied Sam.

"Cool…cool."

-

Marc sat there "Yep, they're looking for me…"

-------------------------------------------6:07 am-------------------------------------------

Marc treaded lightly as he approached a small opening in the trees, which appeared to lead to an even wider opening. He look an alert step forward and unknowingly tripped a wire. Within milliseconds two logs with sharp points came swinging from both sides; he hit the deck and move onto his back. Then a large rock fell from the branches above, seeing this he rolled out of the way and stood up.

"What the hell?" He thought, looking around nervously then clutched his bullet wound after landing on it hard.

"Almost too slow, kid." The voice boomed over the unseen P.A. system. _"Watch it or I'll get you next time…only about five hours to go."_

"JAMES!" roared Marc in rage. "James…I'll kill you for this!" He said catching his breath and beginning to move on.

About a half an hour later, Marc found himself wandering through what appeared to be the same location as her was before. "Damn." He murmured under his breathing. His next step almost cost him his leg, there was a bear trap hidden under the snow and leaves; he was lucky enough to catch this when he did.

Marc looked around as if looking for someone in particular. "Is this the best you got left James?" He said in a cocky tone and decided to step over the trap. Once his foot was firmly planted on the other side there was a whipping sound and a rope wrapped around his ankle; then a counter weight rock fell from above and he was hoisted into the air.

He dangled about seven feet from the ground and frantically tried to locate the knife he had earlier found. It was latched onto the tie of his boot; Marc sat up in an attempt to get it but gravity had other plans for him. With all his might, he pulled himself up and grabbed the knife then, holding onto the rope for support, began saw away at the rope.

Not his best plan ever.

Seconds later Marc came crashing down from the area above, his head landing inches from the bear trap. Out of the corner of his eye he looked at the bear trap, he began to breathe heavily knowing that he came within an eyelash of becoming decapitated.

He got to his feet, stood up strait and every bone in his back popped. He cringed as he started to feel the pain of the fall now. And before he could even blink, two orbs shot at him. Marc held out his hands and blasted them but then they busted open and expelled a weird red power the extinguished his blasts.

After this, he just took off running towards an arbitrary direction. Anywhere had to be safer than this place…

-------------------------------------------9:21 am-------------------------------------------

The bullet hole in Marc's arm had almost completely healed though he still couldn't move or use it in any way. He continuously had to blink to keep his eyes from freezing, his entire body was beginning to wear down and feel the effects of everything that had happened. Due to his pyrokinetic-like powers, he was highly susceptible to cold temperatures, if it grew cold enough he could possibly die. Luckily, his uniform was made like a wetsuit.

Hank and the Professor were not sure why, but Marc's skin absorbed the temperatures of his surrounding if exposed to them long enough. This definitely was not the best place for him to be hanging around. As if he had a choice. James was good, he knew almost every weakness he had and was exploiting each and every one of them.

James knew way too much about him; this is what disturbed Marc the most. Suddenly, a ridiculously screechy noise echoed through the area causing him to crash down to his knees holding his ears in pain. This continued for about five minutes and by then he was writhing in pain on ground; once it stopped, Marc couldn't here a thing besides a constant ringing.

His now impaired hearing would allow anything to get close to him with his knowledge. His hearing was the thing that had been saving his life on several occasions over the recent hours, without it he was not going to fair to well. Marc stood up and walked carefully trying to find some sort of safety; something caught his eye about a half a mile from his current location. It appeared to be a small structure of some sort; he made his way towards it.

Getting closer to it, he was able to make it out more clearly; it was a tiny old log cabin. It was halfway destroyed however, part of the roof and two of the walls had been knocked out at some point…but still it was better than nothing. Once Marc stepped foot in it, he took a look around. There was an old stove, a snow covered and broken bed, and a few tipped over chairs.

Marc made his way under the part of the ceiling that was still intact and sat in the corner, his hearing had returned slightly but not enough. Unexpectedly, he heard those menacing footsteps once more. They were close, very close. He again heard no breathing though it may have been from the disabled hearing.

He peaked through a hole in the cabin wall to see a silver metal robot; it kind of looked like an android and was about the size of Logan. Marc thought he was confused before.

Suddenly it turned and appeared to be looking in Marc's direction. "Identification…target found."

"Shit."

Another android walked over slowly next to the other. Marc had had just about enough of running from things, he picked up a chair and headed around the open wall and met the machines. He ran at one and hit it with the chair causing the wooden chair to shatter; he then tried to punch the other but only succeeded in hurting his hand.

He held his fists together, side by side, and unleashed a huge discharge of fire. The first android was knocked over by the force of the blast and appeared to be unable to stand. Marc prepared for another attack but he was completely drained from the previous maneuver, this was not good.

He had no clue what to do now with out powers or weapons…wait weapons. Of course, he still had the knife; he could use it against it. Marc reached down and pulled the blade from his boot, his eyes roamed in search of a weak spot in the machines armor. He noticed a small spot on the neck of it and thought that maybe he could stab the dagger into it and take it down.

Without further hesitation Marc rushed the android and drove the blade into the before mentions weak point. The metal in the circuitry sent electricity through the conductor into Marc. He felt the sudden surge of voltage coursing throughout his entire body; on reflex, he released his grip on the handle. The built up energy sent Marc flying at the cabin; he struck the wall harshly and fell to the ground.

His vision was bleared and he could hardly keep his eyes open. Just before blacking out his saw two boots walking towards him…

------------------------------------------10:44 am------------------------------------------

Marc's eyes shot open and he sat up quickly. What had happened?

He stood and looked around in a paranoid manner; nothing was out of the ordinary. He began walking on and entered an opening which lead to another part of the forest; it was hard for Marc to see, the snow was thick and made it difficult for him to distinguish clearly. Suddenly, he heard someone clearing there throat; he looked around everywhere until he saw it's source.

The snow began to die down rapidly.

A dark figure stood in the faint glow, solid, unmoving, almost stoic. The man before him was not much at first glance but appeared to be sturdy and fit. He wore a black ski mask with two holes for his eyes, a dark blue/black sweater, pants, and gloves.

Marc peered at him in with hatred in his eyes. "James?"

"Well you've got farther than I expected kid." replied James, taking several steps closer. "All you have to do is stay alive for…." He rolled up his sleeve a looked at his watch. "Hmm…ten more minutes."

Marc held his hand over his eyes to keep the snow from obstructing his vision. "And let me guess? I have to survive a fight with you? Yeah, that's what I thought…very original."

"I see your healing factor is working, all your wounds are healed and you don't seem like you're too scared right now." He said as he came within a few feet of Marc.

"Oh shut up." snapped Marc as he ran at James. James fell back put his feet to Marc's chest and monkey flipped him over then quickly got to his feet.

Marc grunted, lying on his back in the snow. "Damn, that was stupid."

James walked over to him, bent down and looked at Marc. "Yeah it was, I know you've been trained better than that." He grabbed Marc by the arms, spun him around and tossed him at a tree.

Marc's body wrapped around the trunk or the tree, bounced off and fell to the rock covered ground. He staggered to his feet, using the tree as a crutch, and felt something hit him from behind. He attack propel him foreword causing his head to smash into the tree and sent him sprawling across the snow earth.

Marc was laying face first in the snow, he lifted his head up and looked downward at the blood stained slush. He blinked wearily and coughed, spattering blood from his mouth.

"Not doin' so hot, are ya? Well don't worry, it'll be over soon." James scoffed, moving towards him. He put his foot to the back of Marc's neck and applied pressure, pushing Marc's face against the ground. "Too bad…I was hoping for more of a challenge."

James raised his boot and was getting ready to stomp on his neck. Marc locked his legs around James' supporting leg then jerked back his legs and tripped James. Marc scrambled to his feet as James got up to one knee. Marc kicked his square in the face, sending James to the ground.

Marc picked up a thick branch and clobbered James in the swell of the back then tossed it aside. "Is that 'challenging' enough for you?" Marc hissed, sardonically. Marc ran over and kicked him in the ribs as he tried regain his bearings; James rolled over after the kick and held his side.

Marc walked over to him, and was about to strike, but was punched in the gut and subsequently elbowed in the jaw. This knocked Marc back into a tree; James got to his feet and drove a knee into his chest making more blood spew from between Marc's lips. Then James wrapped Marc's arm around his own back and kicked him in the hind of the knee making Marc collapse to his knees. "That was a fun eight minutes, but it's over now."

He placed one and to Marc's chin and the other on the back of his neck and was about to snap his neck. "Any last words?"

Marc's face was full of fear as he thought. "I was thinking about saying 'burn in hell' but like they say, there's no better time than the present..." With that, Marc shot a flash of blaze from his palm that set fire to James' mask.

He clasped his hand over his eyes, blinded by this attack, and then Marc rolled back and away from the reeling James. He threw a punch; James caught it and punched Marc in the jaw twice then gave him four quick jabs to the ribs. James' mask had now become almost completely on fire; the skin on his face was beginning to burn and he had no choice but to pull it off.

A loud buzzer sounded. The test was over. He had passed. But somehow, staring into the face of the man who put him through all of this diverted his attention. Marc stared at him intensely not knowing what to think. "You son of a bitch…"

A.p.R.: Okay that was my first fight scene ever…well, besides chapter two. Anyways, tell me if you liked it or hated it…be honest please.

I have a website dedicated to my fanfics please check that out. You can post questions to me about my stories and I'll post a response. The link is in my author profile under homepage.


	25. 24 3of3

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A.p.R.- I apologize for not updating last week but my account was suspended. Thank you all for the reviews.

------------------------------Welcome to ESPN 8 "The Ocho"--------------------------------

Marc had been, shot, cut, hit, beaten, electrocuted and quite a few other things that could have killed him. And now, he found himself staring into the eyes of the man who had put him through all of this over the last twenty-four hours.

"You SOB..." Marc sputtered from his purple lips, gazing in disbelief.

"You passed."

Marc started at the man. "…w-why…why did you do this?"

The man chuckled to himself. "I did this for you, kid. It's really over this time."

"I'm going to kill you Logan." said Marc trying to throw one last punch but missed and lean on Logan's shoulder and fell to the ground.

"Kid, you weren't in any danger." Logan kicked him in the ribs. "Get up…I know a donut shop a few miles down that way."

"I'm gonna kill you…after we eat…I'm starving." Marc staggered to his feet. "But, just in case you haven't noticed…I'm wearing bloody tore spandex and I also have blood all over me."

Logan sighed. "Well what do you think; I drove you all the way out here? The Blackbird is over in that clearing, I brought you a change of clothes and you can wash up in the washroom."

Marc wiped his hand across lips to get the blood off. "Thanks. Is there a toothbrush too…because I got bug in my teeth?"

-

Inside the Blackbird, Marc was getting cleaned up and changed; Logan had brought along Marc's leather jacket, black pants and shirt. After dressing, he got the things he needed to brush his teeth.

"Hey Logan, where are we anyways?" Marc asked as he squeezed the generic brand toothpaste onto his toothbrush.

"Canada." He replied gruffly.

"Ah-ok." He began brushing his teeth; they were silent for a couple of minutes. "Hey you said earlier that I wasn't in any harm…I got shot in the freakin' arm. That felt pretty harmful to me."

Logan walked over wearing his civvies including that goofy cowboy hat. "Some hunter thought you were an animal or something, I chased him away after the shot."

"Yeah and we all know that deer are six-foot four and wear yellow and blue spandex." replied Marc, sarcastically.

"He said something about bigfoot." Logan said with a half-smile.

Marc turned to Logan with a raised eyebrow. "Is that a sense of humor developing or was that just a one-shot deal?"

"Hurry up." The badger replied in his usual tone.

"Thought so." He said, slipping his black leather jacket on. "So how we getting there anyways? I mean, I don't how parking in Canada is but I don't think the Blackbird will fit without us having to pay a lot of parking meters."

"I rented a car; it's in the docking bay."

"Why not just bring one of those X-Vehicle thingies?"

"Too suspicious."

"What'da'ya mean?"

"Let's just go."

"Fine by me."

They made their way down to the lower part of the jet and Marc crossed his arms over his chest. "You've got to be kidding me?"

"There weren't many rental places that were in this area, I took what they had." explained Logan, hopping into the driver's seat.

Marc sighed and reluctantly hopped into the passenger seat. He then went to grab his seat belt, pull it down to buckle it and the strap snapped. "This makes Lance's jeep look like a BMW."

The hatch opened creating a rank for them to exit the jet, they drove out and the hatch closed behind them. They were on their way to the donut place Logan had mentioned.

Even with his jacket, Marc was freezing. The rental appeared to have been duct taped together, piece by rusty old piece; the seats were not even attached to the car. It had three huge holes in the floor and no roof…and the sad thing was it was never meant to be a convertible.

The car, with all suckiness aside, still had enough juice to blast the heater. For that, Marc was happy. "You weren't really going to kill me…right?"

Logan ignored him.

"Right?"

Silence.

"Right?!"

Logan did not look at him and continued to avoid the question. "I'll answer any questions ya got when we get to there."

Marc still had a slight worried look in his eyes as they continued to drive on the snowy path.

-

In about twenty minutes, they pulled into the parking lot of the donut shop. The building had a large donut/sign on the roof with 'Levesque Bros. Donuts' spelt out in sprinkles.

Logan opened his door and headed into the restaurant; Marc touched the handle of the passenger door and the entire door fell off. "That's great." He stepped out and let the dismembered door be then quickly entered the store.

Marc caught up to Logan and followed him up to the counter, noticing the other customers looking away from them.

"How can I help you, sirs?" said a man in a donut shaped hat.

Logan looked up at the overhead menu behind the man. "I'll take a coffee and a glazed donut…Marc?"

Marc shrugged. "Umm…I guess I'll have a coffee, a hot chocolate, two sprinkled donuts and a devil's food one, please."

The man nodded. "Okay your total comes out to be…$12.52."

Logan pulled out his wallet. "Canadian or American?"

"It doesn't matter." replied the donut clerk in a haughty tone.

"Fine." said Logan slamming the money on the counter, drawing the attention of most in the restaurant to look at them. "Oh and by the way…nice hat." He added and walked away to find a seat.

Marc stood there laughing and then looked at the clerk; he was not that amused. "You're gonna spit in our drinks aren't you?" Marc asked, deflated.

The man just walked away and Marc went over to Logan and pulled up a seat across from him. "Now answer me, were you really going to kill me back there?" He asked warming his hands with his breath.

"Yeah, Chuck would have been real thrilled with me killing one of his students…you weren't in any harm." Logan explained and then a server set their order on the table. "Thanks."

"Well I was in some kind of harm; I heard the bullets and even saw some of them hit the trees. What about those robo-death machines?" Marc attempted to coax a strait answer out of him.

"Most of that were just cheap tricks." Logan said and took a sip of his coffee. "Robo-death machines? Forge made 'em…they're just supped-up prototype maintenance bots. The worst they coulda done was shoot Windex at ya."

"You're an ass." Marc joked then shoved an entire donut in his mouth.

"Slow down kid you got to chew." They sat a few moments in silence. "Hey, don't tell the Professor 'bout this, okay?"

"He doesn't know?"

"Of course he doesn't. You actually think he'd let me do this?"

"No, I guess not…but he's a telepath? Won't he know even if we don't tell him?"

Logan took a bite of his donut. "Chuck doesn't go into people's minds unless it's necessary."

"How did you get me here anyways?" wondered Marc. "I know that I'm impossible you wake up at times but…"

"What, do you think I was pouring drinks last night out of the kindness of my heart?"

"Yeah I was wondering…but I still don't get how."

"Tranquilizers in your lemonade and you where out like a light."

"How did you not wake Amara?"

"C'mon kid, give me some credit? I am one of the best stealth operatives in the world plus I could've kicked your ass back there."

Marc rolled his eyes.

"Marc, your hand-to-hand skills are pretty okay. But, just so ya know, I can kill or disable you in seven different ways right now; five without my claws."

Marc scooted back in his chair a little scared. "Damn…how'd you learn all that?"

"When you've been around as long as I have, you'll pick up a few things."

"You can't be more than 35?"

Logan just chuckled. "You have no idea."

They both sat for a few moments and ate their meals.

"You said you'd answer any question I had, right?" asked Marc as he finished up his last donut and then downed his coffee.

"Yeah kid, shoot."

Marc took a deep breath. "Well I was wondering about this since the day I learned how the whole healing factor thing works…"

"Yeah, out with it…"

"Well can we, I mean with the healing factor, you know like…get STDs or AIDS?"

Logan smirked and leaned back in the chair. "I haven't had any problems."

"Oh, and we know how popular you are with the ladies…" He mocked.

Logan grunted and they sat in silence for a moment. "Why'd ya ask anyways," He asked in his regular tone. "Are you planning something with Kitty?" He snapped, condemningly.

Marc jumped at the sudden change in Logan's attitude and scooted back further in his chair. "NO, I swear it's not like that-"

"What, so is she not good enough for ya?" barked Logan, staring a hole in Marc.

"No it's just that-" Marc was cut off.

"So then you don't want to sleep with her?"

"I do…I mean no-well yes but…I..she…" Marc rambled in a panic until noticing Logan's smirk. "I freakin' hate you…"

He continued to chuckle. "Calm down kid, I'm just messin' with you."

Marc ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "When are we going to home?"

"Soon as you decide you want to go, I'm not forcing you to stay." Logan explained, cracking his knuckles.

"Lets get going then…I really, really want to sleep in my own bed." replied Marc, brushing a few crumbs from his soul patch as he stood from his chair.

Logan rose out of his seat and they headed out the door. Marc held it open. "I'm driving."

"Yeah right kid, get in…oh and hold that door on." Logan started the car, then when Marc was in, pulled out of the parking lot. "So remember none of this to Chuck."

Marc nodded. "So Logan, what do you like to do for fun? You know, besides torturing kids and shooting razor discs at them."

Logan didn't replied or even show that he acknowledged the question.

"Fine you could of just said, 'I don't wanna talk about it' or something." stated Marc as they continued driving.

They were about two miles when Logan suddenly took a sharp turn into the parking lot of a bar/pool hall that went by the name of 'Racks and Balls.' He hopped out of the car and, with a smirk, walked up to the entrance. "This is what I do for fun."

"You make turns for fun?" Marc asked, trying to get out of his seat that had collapsed. When he finally got out he hurried into the bar and sat at the bar next to Logan.

The place was nice, it was small but still nice. There was one pool table over by a window, several tables, a few booths and a bar.

The bartender took a good look at Marc. "He nineteen?"

"Yeah." Logan replied and Marc shot a look at him.

The bartender smiled. "Well then what can I get for you two?"

"I'll take a beer."

"Just a Coke for me please." Marc added and the bartender turned away to pay the get their drinks.

Logan looked at Marc, confused. "What're ya doing, I was going to let you get a drink."

"I don't drink."

Logan knew exactly why Marc doesn't drink, so he didn't pursue the conversation any further. The bartender set the drinks and the two started on them.

"We don't like your kind in here." A mans voice said from behind them. Logan sighed and turned around on his barstool to see five men surrounding a young woman. She was obviously a mutant, she had two horns on her head above her eye brows some on her elbows.

"Leave her alone, bub." Logan said roughly as he stood and walked over to them. Marc did the same and stood next to Logan.

"Why are you a mutie lover or something?" One man said with a smirk.

"Or something…" Marc mumbled.

"Then you're just as unwelcome here as her."

Logan chuckled. "Last chance, bub…leave her alone."

The five men gathered around the two mutants. "We're warning you, don't do-"

Logan punched him in the jaw. "This?"

The four started attacking them; two guys grabbed Marc from behind by the arms. Marc elbowed one guy in the gut causing him to double over and the he kneed him in the face. The other guy punched Marc in the face sending him back onto the bar counter.

Logan grabbed one of the guys by the hair and slammed his face into a wall. Another began punching at him but he just kept slapping his attempts away; Logan was about to punch him but was hit in the back of the head with a beer bottle. Wolverine turned around an knocked the guy out with a quick jab.

Marc was leaned up against the counter as a fist came flying at him, he ducked under it and came around behind the man and kicked him in the back. The man flipped over the counter and crashed into a few boxes and other things back there. A pool stick cracked over Marc's back hard and he came tumbling to the ground.

Marc's attacker went over to join in the brawl against Logan and he was now taking on three guys. Every time he went after one of them the others got him. Logan threw a punch and hit one of them but the other two just punched him. All of a sudden, one of the guys fell to the ground; Marc had hit him with a bar stool. "Now you know how it feels."

One of the guys pushed Marc away. The man Marc had flipped over the bar jumped over it and charged at him. Marc noticed it, just as he was about to strike, and bent over and the large man flipped over Marc's back and fell onto the pool table. The tabled cracked under his weight.

Logan was beating away on one of the guys when a fist came catching him in his temple. "Shit kid, what was that for?!"

Marc glared at him as they both continued fighting the last two drunken men. "That was for everything."

One guy swung a huge left hook, Marc ducked and thrust an uppercut into his gut then smashed a forearm into his face sending him backwards. Then, in one quick motion, Marc struck the man in the face with a right then spun around and connected with a left backhand. The man fell to the floor unconscious. "Oooh that's gonna leave a mark…meh."

Logan had the last guy by the collar and was just enjoying punching him. Marc tapped him on the shoulder. "I think he's had enough, Logan."

With that, Logan threw the man down by the collar and him and Marc walked turned around to walk back to the counter. The man scrambled to his feet and pulled a dart from a nearby dartboard and held it like a switchblade.

The sound of Adamantium claw unsheathing rang throughout the bar. "Wanna compare?" Logan growled.

The man was so shocked he dropped the improvised weapon. "You're a..a-"

Marc's fist caught on fire. "Yes…we're mutants…now get to steppin' before he feels like giving out free hair cuts."

The five drunks all helped each other out the door then the just took off running as fast as they could.

Marc adjusted his jacket then turned to Logan "Think they'll go to the cops?" Marc had a slight laceration above his eye, black eyes and a few bruises.

Logan chuckled. "Yeah kid, a group of drunks going to the police accusing assault after threatening a woman and a minor…that makes sense."

"You were amazing, thank you so much!" The young girl blurted as she squeezed Marc in a hug.

Marc looked at Logan and shrugged as if asking, 'what do I do?'

Logan smirked.

"No problem." Marc said patting her on the back.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you. You saved me! How can I ever repay you?" She said and kissed Marc. Marc pulled away and saw Logan trying not to laugh.

"Umm…it was nothing, really." Marc continued trying to get her to release him.

She finally let go and looked at her watch. "Oh gosh, I'm gonna be late for my dermatologist appointment, I gotta go. Thanks again two mutant guys." She said running out through the door.

Marc let everything sink in. "Logan…not a word to Kitty." He said, firmly.

They looked around at the bar; it was pretty much in shambles. Marc exhaled loudly. "Well damn."

The bartender came out from hiding behind the bar and evaluated the damage to his tavern. "Well I was thinking about remodeling…" He said trying to lighten the mood.

Logan sighed and pulled out his wallet then threw down a huge wad of money in front of the man. "Marc, did you really have to break that pool table."

"I didn't break it, the dude did." Marc replied as they both started walking out of the bar and made there way to the rental. They drove off back to the Blackbird and were on their way home.

-

Luckily for them, no one really noticed that they were gone. Logan had told the Professor that he was taking Marc on an all night hike. When they arrived back at the institute, school was already out and the X-Men were probably were all over the estate. Marc just went strait to his room.

"Marc have you seen my boots?" Amara asked from the floor as Marc entered the room and laid down on his bed.

"No why do you need 'em?"

"Don't you know?"

"I would have to say I don't."

"Hank has been taking a lot of heat from Logan because he doesn't train us hard enough. So now that Logan is back we have to hike 12 miles through the forest. That includes you too Marc. Isn't that just the perfect way to kick off your spring break."

Marc had completely forgotten that after school today, they got the rest of the week off. "Nope, Logan gave me the rest of the week off; besides that's nothing."

Amara reached under her bed and pulled out her boots. "And what exactly do you mean by that?" She asked, putting them on.

"Nothing…have fun hiking."

She stuck her tongue out at him as she left the room to meet the others.

"Oh that's very mature…" Marc joked as she shut the door. Marc changed into his extra pair of pajamas, the ones that weren't in Canada still, he laid back down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. "What a day: Robots, bullet wounds, bugs and bar fights...but now I'm bored." He thought as he drifted off to sleep.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N - I hoped you all liked this…it was one of my favorite chapters to write.


	26. Sandbags

Disclaimer: I own nothing according to the laws we live and die by called the Terms of Service. Shakes fist.

A.p.R - Hey thanks for the reviews and I'm glad y'all liked the fight scenes over the last two chapters. I knew I gave you guys too many clue as to who James was. I got me some smart reviewers.

------------------------------Spider-Man 2: Electric Bugaloo---------------------------

Amara yawned as she sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep from around her eyes. She peered at a moving figure in the dark. It was on the floor next to her; she squinted to try to make out whom it was. It was Marc doing pushups.

"Marc?" She asked in amazement, "You're up…at seven-thirty a.m. on a Saturday?"

"Yeah…I'm just…excited about…today." Marc said in between reps. "Is it a shock to see me up?" He rose to his feet.

"YEAH…I usually have to slap you a few times just to get your eyes open."

Marc smiled. "Yeah, we've had some pretty interesting morning experiences."

"I still can't believe that you could have taken the week off but decided to start training instead."

He shrugged. "I just felt that I might as well start."

"Well I'm gonna go get dressed and then we'll head out for your first day with the New Mutants."

Marc nodded and Amara went into the closet to change. "He's so cute when he's happy." She thought with a smile.

-

All the New Mutants, now including Marc, were making their way to today's outdoor group session. Marc was still bouncing with excitement over this.

Jubes put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him down so that he could not bounce anymore. "Down boy." In her mind it was too early for happy.

"Sorry, just pumped is all." Marc replied then saw Kitty come out from her room ready for the X-Men's DR training. He ran up to her and picked her up by the waist. "I'm a New Mutant."

He set her down and she gave a confused smile. "Did you forget you Ritalin today, Marc?"

"Yes…but that's beside the point." He replied, smiling. She kissed him and scampered off to the Danger Room.

After the rest of the New Mutants forced Marc to go to Beast and take his Ritalin, they arrived outside.

Logan walked up to the teens and stood before them crossing his arms menacingly. "Okay teams. Team one: Popsicle, Berzerker, Wolvesbane, and Jubilee. Team two: Princess, Hayseed, Multiple, Fyreside."

They all went and lined up side to side in their teams.

"Today we're gonna be doin' capture the flag." Logan explained with a small smirk. That smirk would strike fear into even the bravest man, woman or child. "Team one-"

"We prefer to be called the Bobby Drake Experience featuring Jubilation." interrupted Iceman, smartly.

"Whatever, over there," Logan growled pointing to one side of the field. "Team two over there."

Both teams set up on either side of the field. "When I say begin: begin…got that?"

"Yeeeeeeeeessss Badger." They all moaned in compliance.

"Begin!" With that, several turrets popped up on each side of the field and commenced bombarding the teens. "Show them what you can do Marc." Wolverine said to himself.

__

::THUD::

"Oh my God the turrets killed Marc! Those bastards!"

"Mutant down! Mutant down!"

Logan palmed his face. "Damn kid." He mumbled. "Bobby, Amara…get Marc to the infirmary with Beast and report back here."

Bobby saluted him smart-alecky. "Right-o, Captain."

"Go!" Logan shouted. The paycheck from Chuck almost wasn't worth this. Almost.

-

Bobby and Amara, who were Marc's crutches, entered the infirmary and set him on a chair.

"What happened?" Hank asked calmly.

Bobby shrugged. "Sandbag to the head."

Hank walked over and pointed his flashlight into Marc's eyes. "Hmm…his eyes are glazed over…"

"I hate it when Doctors say 'Hmm' it just freaks me out." Bobby said shifting a bit.

"Is he gonna be okay Mr. McCoy?" Amara ask worried.

Hank rubbed his chin. "Well he had a sever concussion and laceration above his eye, but with his healing factor he'll be fine soon."

"Okay that's good…I'll go tell Logan." Bobby announced as he left.

Amara rubbed Marc's shoulder. "So he's going to be fine then?"

"Soon, but now he's probably going to be in some pain…I'll give him something for it." Hank applied some bandages to Marc's eyebrow and Marc patted Hank's face just barely conscious.

Amara softly pulled Marc's hand away from Hank. "Like what…pain killers?"

"Yes, but don't worry I'll only give him a mild dosage." Hank grabbed a bottle with his foot, opened it and pulled out a small pill.

"What's that?" Amara asked staring at the bottle.

"It's call Percocet." Hank filled up a paper cup with water and walked over to the injured mutant. "Marc are you awake?"

Marc had one eye open and the other closed. "What's up Doc?"

"I'm going to need you to swallow this medicine." Hank explained to him as if he was a child. Marc took the pill and started to wobble in his seat.

Marc put his hand on Hank's face and squinted at him. "You face is covered with a fine fuzz."

Hank sighed. "Okay…Amara he's going to be a little out of it so could you watch him for a bit so he doesn't fall asleep?"

"Don't sleep with a concus…sion." Marc mumbled weakly.

"Sure, come on Marc." Amara said as her and Hank helped Marc to his feet.

They got out the door and were almost to their room when and crashing sound stopped them in their tracks.

"Hank…could you come here for a minute?!" Jamie called.

Hank rolled his eyes. "What now…Amara could you get Marc there by yourself?"

She nodded and Hank jogged off to see what had happened.

"Okay Marc, it looks like it's just you and me for now."

Marc slung his arm around Amara and began to ramble in gibberish as he wobbled around making it hard for Amara to hold him up.

"Hey stop it…MARC." Amara was struggling to support him and he fell to the ground. "No one has to know." She whispered nervously wondering if anyone saw her drop him.

She helped Marc to his feet once more and they slowly continued.

"Thank you." Marc mumbled.

"For dropping you?" She asked.

Marc was still a bit loopy, almost in a drunken state. "It doesn't matter really when you think about it."

Amara just decided to humor him. "Yeah."

"I'm not mad at you Amara-ara-ara. Heh, heh…you know what Amara, I like you…and I like my shirt."

"Okay, whatever you say Marc."

"No but I like you more than my…whatever." Marc gave her a few pecks on the cheek Amara pulled away.

"Marc?" She laughed as his soul patch tickled her cheek. She opened the door to their room and helped Marc to have a seat on the bed.

Marc stood shakily and started to kiss Amara's neck playfully. She giggled and pushed him back onto the bed. "Marc, stop!" She said trying to resist the tremendous urge to let him.

"I've been wanting to do it since the day the we met but…no, no he was with Kitty I couldn't…could I? No Amara, he's still drugged and he has a concussion." She thought.

"Marc-" But before she could say another word Marc's lips were to hers. She could not do this, but it felt so good. She shoved him away onto then bed and looked at him. He was…asleep. She sighed.

Amara fiddled with her hair as she walked over and plopped down on the other bed. "Why did I do that, he's with Kitty? Is it wrong that I liked it?" She mused to herself. She was so confused, was it him or the medication? Should she tell him when he wakes? She had no clue, what would she say?

-

"Logan, Marc okay." Bobby said upon returning to the training session.

"What's wrong with him?" asked Logan halfheartedly.

Bobby shrugged. "Concussion or something."

Logan growled. "You don't even remember?"

"C'mon Logan, Hank said he was going to give Marc something and he'd be fine." He said. "He's a fast healer no big deal."

"Go check on him Popsicle." Logan snapped.

"Fine."

-

Bobby is walking through the halls of the institute heading towards Marc's room. "Marc…Amara?" He shouts through the halls.

Amara paled as Bobby's voice grew closer. Would he figure out what happened? Would he tell?

"Marc…" Bobby said as he entered the room. "Oh hey Amara, how's he doing?"

"Uh…he's…fine." Amara said nervously. "Yeah he's supposed to be fine as long as I don't let him fall…uh-oh!" She shouted disregarding every other though at the moment.

"How long has he been out?" Bobby asked a bit panicky.

"I dunno, fifteen…twenty-five minutes maybe."

Bobby started slapping him across the face trying to make him come to but Amara pushed him away.

"Marc…Marc!" She started to shake him.

"Argh…stop shaking me." Marc grumbled holding his head. "How did we get in here? Bobby were you just slapping me?"

"Yeah, but it's the thought that counts." He said, as if he had raised a very good point.

She sat next to him. "Marc, what is the last thing you remember?"

"Well…we were outside and then…pain." He said, feeling dizzy. "What happened?"

"Umm, you got hit in the head…" She explained, pointing to the bandage above his eye.

"With a sandbag." Bobby added.

"Yes with a sandbag, and got a concussion."

"Amara tried to kill you." Bobby said quickly.

"Bobby!"

Marc blinked a few times. "What do you mean?"

"She-"

Amara cut Bobby off and explained. "Hank gave you some painkillers for the concussion and I was supposed to watch you to make sure you didn't fall asleep and then you fell asleep and…I'm sorry." She rambled then hugged him.

"It's okay, I'm okay now." Marc said, still holding his head. He removed the bandage above his eye to reveal it, was now fully healed. "See, all better."

She smiled and hugged him tighter. Bobby pried her off of him. "That's enough…don't try to kill him with hugs."

-

The phone is ringing Professor X's office. He answers it. "Hello, This is The Xav…you're interested in enrol…I'll clear out a room for you right away…thank you for-" The other line hung up. Charles sat in his chair and smiled as he began pulling out paperwork.

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Who could it be?

Please review, then go to my profile page after for shout-outs.


	27. Like the Last Time

Disclaimer: I don not own the X-Men or any characters associated with Marvel. However I do own Marc Maseon and the idea…and that poodle. I call her Fifi.

------------------------It takes a big man to cry…it takes and even bigger man to laugh at that man-------------------------

Jean poked her head into the Professor's office. "You want to see me?" she asked with a smile.

He looked up from his laptop at Jean. "Yes, I wanted to ask a favor of you. Could you please bring Bobby here and also make sure that nobody leaves before your guest arrives."

"Sure, Professor," Jean nodded. "I'll go get him now." she said closing the door behind her.

-

Most of the mutants were in the rec-room relaxing. Kurt was annoying Rogue, who was trying to read, and was about to get smacked. Roberto, Ray and Evan were watching/ogling women's volleyball on television. There was also a rather heated debate on a very important subject happening over in the corner of the room.

"No way Marc, shaving your legs is much harder to do than shaving your face." Jubilation snapped.

"If we nick our legs with the razor, it hurts and leaves scratches and scars on our legs." added Kitty.

Bobby rolled his eyes. "No, if you girls screw up shaving your legs you can just wear pants."

"Yeah, and if we do it we can't do anything unless we wear a bandana over our mouths…but...then people tend to think you want to rob them." Marc put in, kind of confusing himself.

Jubes chuckled a bit. "Why were we arguing about this anyway?"

Just then, Jean entered the room. "Hey Bobby, could you come here for a minute?"

Bobby smirked as he turned to her. "Jean, you can't make me come just by asking."

Jubes smacked him on his arm but still couldn't help but laugh.

Jean rubbed the brim of her nose and sighed. "The Professor wants to speak with you."

His eyes widened. "Okay Jean I swear, I didn't know that those were his slippers and I never meant to…" Jean was confused at this rambling. "You have no idea what I'm talking about do you?" He asked.

"No…and I'm not sure I want to." She replied.

"Okay then…you can just forget that other stuff then." With that they left to see the Professor.

-

About fifteen minutes later Bobby came bursting back into the room cheering. "Yoohoo!"

Jubes raised an eyebrow. "What are you so happy about?"

"I'm gonna be a real X-Man! I'm gonna be a real X-Man!"

"What do you mean, man?" Marc asked.

"I'm going to be an X-Man!"

"Yeah, we got that..." Jubes said.

Bobby calmed himself. "Okay…I'm going to get to, sorta, try out to be an official X-Man." He explain. "If I do good I get to be a full-fledged member."

"Sweetness." Marc said, merrily and the two buddies did their happy dances.

Kitty sighed. "Are they going to do this every time one of them has something good happen to them?"

"I hope not…" replied Jubes, shuddering from the thought.

"We should go out to celebrate on this joyous occasion." Bobby said as he danced merrily.

Jean walked back into the room; Bobby and Marc ceased their joyful dancing. "Oh and the Professor doesn't want any of you guys leaving the mansion."

"Why, like, is something wrong?" inquired the valley girl.

"Nope, it's just a surprise." Jean smiled, knowingly. "All of you need to be in front of the mansion by the fountain at five." With that, Jean left the room.

"Good grief…now we can't go anywhere."

"Dude, did you just say good grief?" Jubes asked Marc.

"Yeah." He replied.

"Why?"

"Who knows?"

They didn't move for a moment and let the conversation sink in; Kitty was the first to break the silence. "That sure was weird."

Bobby sighed and put his arm around Jubilation. "Well I'm going to tell you guys something…I'm bored."

"How can you be bored? A few minutes ago you were ecstatic and besides…you're not allowed to be bored around me." Jubes said with a smirk and kissed him.

Marc saw this and quickly put his arm around Kitty. "Me too, I'm bored too."

Kitty giggled. "No…you're allowed to be bored around me."

Marc hung his head and sniffled. "Where's the love?"

"Fine." She smiled playfully. "Now close your eyes…" He did as she instructed and waited for a kiss.

After a few minutes of nothing Marc opened his eyes and Kitty, Jubes and Bobby had left them room. "I should have seen that coming."

-

Later that day, Bobby and Marc join the X-Men in standing in front of the fountain. Everyone but Logan was outside waiting for something to come thought the mansion gates. "So…what's interesting about that gate?" asked Bobby. Marc shrugged.

Meanwhile, inside the mansion, Tabitha set her bag down on the floor as she came in through the garage. She looked around and saw no one. "HELLO? IS ANYBODY HOME?"

She walked around the main entrance and still no sign of life. "Kitty must be cooking tonight." She looked out the glass front doors and saw everyone out by the fountain.

Tabby shrugged and went to them. She walked up, stood slightly behind Amara and Kurt and joined them in waiting. After a minute or so of just standing there in silence, she got a tad bored. "What are we waiting for?"

Amara did a double take before realizing that Tabby was there. "Tabitha!" She shouted and hugged her.

They all finally realized that she was the one that they were waiting for and greeted her. "Long time no zee." Kurt said, bearing his fangs.

Wheeling over, the Professor smiled. "Yes, Tabitha is our new recruit…she will be rooming with Amara."

"And I'll be living on the streets…again?" Marc whined, jokingly.

The Professor shook his head. "No, you'll move back into the room you stayed in the first night you came to Bayville."

"The hotel?" asked Bobby.

Marc chuckled as he looked over at Bobby. "No, he means that guestroom I was in…right?"

"Of course I don't, you will be in the guestroom by yourself." Professor said, and began rolling up to the entrance.

"Hey Prof, we should throw a party, ya know? In my honor." Tabby said with a huge grin.

"Well, now Tabitha-"

Tabby sighed. "C'mon Professor…pwease, I pwomise we'll be good."

"Yeah, we'll make sure it's nothing like the last time."

"What happened last time?" Marc asked, naively.

"I hope not." Kurt rubbed his head like he was still in pain.

Marc raised a brow. "Why? What when on last time?"

The Professor folded his hands upon his lap. "I don't think we should-"

"I'm sure that Hank wouldn't mind being, like, the chaperone." Kitty announced.

"Well I'm not sure about that but I could do what I can to help with it." Hank added.

"Hey and Aunty O could be a chaperone too." Evan said.

"Thanks for…volunteering me, Evan." Ororo said with a slight glare at her nephew. "I will do it, Charles. I think it would be good for the kids to have some social interaction."

"Yeah, yeah, that social thing…so what'd'ya say Prof?" Tabby asked with a buoyant look in her eyes.

"Only if it is properly chaperoned of course. We mustn't have a repeat of the last time." The Professor reluctantly agreed and they all headed inside the mansion.

Marc raised his hand. "Please, will someone tell me what happened last time?"

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I know, not the best chapter…yet not the worst. I'll try to update next weekend but if I can't there won't be another one for two weeks because I'm going on vacation.


	28. Jubilee's New Hairdo!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea and Marc Maseon. I also do not own a Gamecube and for that I am sad.

A.p.R. - Well I wont be able to update next week because I'm heading out to Chicago for a few days tomorrow. But while I'm gone I want to recomend that you guys read "Desdemona" by psychobunny410. It's a good story and it has our lovable Marky Mark in it. So if you need your fill of Marc Maseon goodness go check it out please...it's great.

--------------------------------------------------Michael Jackson is a vampire!-------------------------------------------------------- 

Jubilee decided that she wanted to get her hair cut before the big bash tonight, so she proceed to go to her favorite hair salon. Of coarse, since she wasn't old enough to drive there on her own she had to find someone to take her there. And much to both of their dismay…it was Logan.

Logan mumbled to himself the whole drive there. He doesn't like barber shops too much. "Jubes, why did you bring me along on this?" he grunted.

"Isn't it obvious?" Jubes poked at his hair and giggled. "It's because of your stylish taste in hair styles."

Logan let out a slight growl and just glared ahead at the road. He patted at his hair then looked into the rearview mirror. "What's wrong with my hair?" he thought.

Once there they both walked up to the appointment counter. A male hair dresser spotted Logan and came running over. "Oh my, my. You need a good hair cut and I, Francesco, am the one to be giving it!"

Before Logan could even respond, Francesco had him in the chair and had already tied the hair capes around his neck. "Um…okay now, listen bub-"

Francesco spun him around in his chair so he could look him dead in the eye. "Don't you 'listen bub' me!" he then spun Logan back around so that he was facing the mirror. "When was the last time you got your hair cut because it is just atrocious?"

"I haven't gotten my hair cut in any barber shop since the Depression." growled Logan. "I mean, I was…um…depressed..there…in a barber shop…"

Luckily no one heard what Logan had said mainly because of Francesco's constant chattering. "Well sir…I must ask you, do you do your hair yourself or do you just slap some gel in your hair stand facing into a gust of wind then leave your hair like it is? Because it sure looks that way."

Jubes wasn't sure but she figured that a person isn't too happy if that little vein in their forehead was as big as Logan's. She briskly walked over and pulled Logan out of the chair before poor Francesco pushed him over the edge and Logan decided to go all hack and slash on him. "Wolvie, go wait in the car or something and cool off." Jubes said and he stormed his way out of the salon, still mumbling.

About thirty minutes later, Jubilee came out with a newspaper over her head. She didn't want a single soul to see how they butchered her hair.

Logan raised a brow at this. "What? Is the sky falling?"

"NO! THEY SCREWED UP MY HAIR!" she shouted as she got into the passenger's side seat.

"Couldn't be that bad…during my time I've seen a lot of things including several fashion trends I constantly pray to forget. So show me." Logan said in his calm, gruff, voice.

Jubes lifted the newspaper up off of her head and revealed her hair. It was now just…exactly the same. "Um, well Jubilee, that looks very…similar to be honest."

Jube's eye suddenly went wide and then narrowed just as quickly. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Logan shook his head and went back to glaring at the road and mumbled for a different set of reasons. This experience has reminded ol' Wolvie why he doesn't like talking.

-

Bobby smiled as he saw his girlfriend walk through the main door of the mansion. Though he did wonder why she had a piece of newspaper on her head. "Hey Jubes…what's with the horoscope section on your head?"

She froze when she heard his voice. She did not want him to see this 'horrid hairdo' she had. "Hey Bobs, I…um gotta go." she said, trying to walk away and still keep the paper covering her head.

"Oh thanks, I'm really not sure if I believe in these things but it's always fun to read them." Hank said, walking by and pulled the paper of her head nonchalantly and started reading it while walking into the kitchen.

Bobby looked at Jubes in awe; Jubes cringed, wondering how bad it looked to him.

"Great hair cut, cutie." he said with a smile.

She rolled her eyes and let out a huge sigh. "Stop humoring me and just tell he how much you hate it."

"I don't hate it…I really like it." The Popsicle said with a slightly smaller smile. "It makes you look great."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really."

"That's great…I thought I'd be a laughing stock cuz of how bad I look."

"No…no." he put in and gave her a kiss. "It's perfect."

The couple walked away to start helping to clear out the room where the party was going to take place.

Logan, who had the displeasure of overhearing that conversation, scoffed and walked away grumbling. "It's exactly the same..."

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Please review and check out that fic.


	29. Who Knows?

Disclaimer: I'm a lumberjack and I'm OK, I wear high heels and I dance all day…

A.p.R. - I'm sorry that I haven't been able to do shout-outs anymore because of the guidelines…I don't want them taking this story down like they did to my other fic. This doesn't mean that I'm forgetting about you guys…you guys make this story not me…thank you all for the reviews.

------------------------------------Misterio? I think I had a bowl of those for breakfast--------------------------------------

The party was basically set up but Tabby suspected there were a few things missing and since Amara didn't want to come she dragged Ray out to Party City with her. Not like he didn't want to anyways.

Ray want to confess to her his little secret but he couldn't find the words.

In Ray's mind, Tabitha had always been the cutest of all the new recruits. It seemed that every time he got up the courage to tell her how he truly felt he hit a roadblock.

He just stood, leaning on the cart while she was grabbing little party favors and other decorations. He began to zone out as he admired her beauty and he began to wonder if her feeling were the same.

"Sugar Ray…stop day dreamin'." Tabby said, coming over and tossing a heavy box of confetti that moved the cart.

Ray, who was unaware that the cart was moving, slipped and fell on his back.

She laughed as he became entangled in some streamers and confetti. "Nice one…hey I warned ya."

"GAH!" Ray started to fume as he tried to stand up, however the blindingly colorful decorations had other ideas and tripped him up.

This caused Tabby to laugh so hard she began to cry.

He was about to fry the decorations, but, luckily, he looked up and caught a glimpse of her doubled-over in laughter.

That made everything that happened just got away and he couldn't help but join her in the laughter.

- 

Back at the institute, Marc walked into the room that he had once shared with Amara to pick up a few things.

He had just about moved all of his things out that he needed to put in his new room. "Hey Amara…just gotta grab some things." he said, quietly.

It was getting hard for him to be around her; he didn't want the feelings that he had for her but, at the same time, he did. That's the problem he had. He cherished his time with her almost as much as he wanted to be free of the feelings that he knew they shared.

"Yeah sure, go ahead." she replied, not looking at him while he grabbed his stuff and left.

Once Marc got out of her room, Amara shook her head as she began to get that strange and wonderful feeling of the fluttering butterflies in her stomach. "Why can't everything turn out like they do in the movies instead of some WB drama?" She thought, aloud.

Marc poked his head back into the room. "Huh?"

She blushed. "Oh nothing…nothing at all." She replied; he shrugged an left. She put her head under her pillow and screamed.

He peeked his head in the room once more. "Are you…feeling alright?"

"GO AWAY."

"Going…" He said and briskly walked away.

-

Jubilee and Bobby had just recently finished moving the furniture and antiques out of harms way.

"What to do now…there's still a few hours before the party?" wondered Jubilee.

"You're it!" Bobby laughed and pushed Jubes onto the couch and sprinted through the door of the mansion.

Jubes hopped off the couch and ran outside after him. He looked behind him and progressed to run faster as she was catching up to him. When she was close enough to him, she leaped and glomped him to the ground.

They rolled around on the ground; the grass, cool to the touch. Laying next to each other they giggled, looking into each other's eyes. Once their simpering had died down they stared up into the clouds.

"That cloud looks like a bat." She said, pointing up to the cloud.

"That one right there looks like Captain Crunch."

She giggled. "That one is like a hippo."

"That looks like a plane." He said.

She smacked him in the stomach. "That is a plane."

"So…"

-

"Wait up, chere…" Remy called, trying to catching up to Rogue as she walked out of the mall.

Rogue didn't acknowledge him and walked faster, wearing a smirk on her face.

"Wait fo' me, please." He begged a she just walked faster.

Rogue had never imagined that she'd ever get the kind of attention that Remy gave to her. Even when she was mean to him he still treated her like she was the only girl in the world. But hey, she still loved playing hard to get.

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Hmm...this chapter had no point, it was kinda short, and it doesn't explain much...my bad. The next chapter will be longer and better. You have my word that you'll love the next chapter...if not: no refunds.

Please review.


	30. Party at Xavier's!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Marc Maseon, the idea, and the song is also mine too.

A.p.R. - Hooray! Chapter 30...this is, in my opinion, one of the best chapters I've ever written. I hope you all love it.

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The Professor had left the institute for the entire day and night in the hands of Logan, Hank and Ororo. Xavier was not really a big partier.

The gigantic front room was all set up and ready for a party with all the furniture moved out of the way. There were amps and the bands' instruments set up for their performance, a few snack tables scattered around the area and tons of decorations that Tabby had insisted on buying.

Tabitha stood in the hallway and looked out at her masterpiece. She smiled, turned around and went into her and Amara's shared room. "I can't wait for this today. It's gonna be so awesome."

Amara gave her a small smile. "Yeah, me either."

"Why so glum, chum?" Tabby asked, feigning a pout. "Are you still mad about me kicking your crush out of the room?" She joked, sitting down on her best friend's bed.

"No, it's not that." Amara said, with a slight laugh. "Well actually it is." she admitted but couldn't keep from smiling.

"Ow…" She put her hand on the right side of her chest. "My heart is pained."

Amara giggled and hit Tabby with a pillow. "Oh shut up."

Marc opened the door, entered the room but then exited the room and shut the door. Knocking was heard. "Can I come in?"

"Marky-Mark…mi casa es su casa." Tabby smiled proudly at her mastering of the Spanish language.

Marc clapped for her as he entered the room again. "Very nice Tabby…very nice. I actually came here to find my left shoe…I know it's still in here somewhere."

Amara gestured towards his old bed. "Check there."

He nodded, got on his stomach and crawled under the bed to look. Tabby tilted her head and stared at him. She brought her head closer to Amara's and whispered loudly. "You _were _right _Amara_…he does have a nice ass."

Amara shot her a glare that Tabby responded to with a cocky smirk. Marc crawled out of from underneath the bed, blushing, with a shoe in his hand. "Thank you." he said with a smile and left. "See you guys tonight."

"I sure hope so, hot stuff." Tabby said, trying to imitate Amara's voice. "By the way that was me, Amara." she added.

"Are you just set on embarrassing me to death?" asked Amara.

"You know it." She replied, grinning. "But seriously, lighten up…have some fun. That's what tonight is all about." She got up and danced around the room a bit.

"Yeah you're right. It'll be just like the last time…except without the whole disaster part." Amara smiled.

"Right…"

-

It was party time and the guests were pouring into the mansion. Logan was playing bounce with anyone who would try to get into the areas that were not meant for partying. Ororo was acting as the chaperone and walking around making sure things did not get too wild. Hank was working on some things in his lab while watching the TV monitors around the mansion, just in case.

There were a lot more guests than originally expected. They didn't think that a town that wasn't too mutant friendly would come to a mutant party, but a party is a party. And the best part was…Duncan didn't show.

Tabby was already dancing with a few guys as the DJ played some songs they could dance to. Matt and his band, Midnight, came in through the front door and were spotted by Tabitha. "Hey guys, thanks for coming!" she said running over to them. "Your setup is over there."

"Cool." Matt shrugged and they walked over to their concert area.

Tabby ran into the kitchen then came out soon after with a bowl of 'punch' and set it down on a table. She looked around with shifty eyes before, nonchalantly, entering the crowd.

Marc walked down the stairs and straight over to the wall; he was wearing a black shirt with holographic flames on it with black pants and shoes.

"Hey you," a familiar voice softly called from the stairs.

He looked over and smiled as she walked over to him. "Hey Kit."

"So, like, how do I look?" asked Kitty and turned around to let him get a look. She was wearing a deep blue spaghetti strap dress with matching shoes.

"Wow…you look amazing. I like your hair." He said, noticing that she wore her hair down tonight.

She grinned and kissed him. "Thanks…I thought you'd like it." She looked around. "I love this song…c'mon let's dance."

"I don't dance."

"Aww, come on…it'll be fun. Just like when you learned to ice skate." she said with a smirk.

He smiled but still resisted. "Sorry Kitty, but it's just not my thing."

She pouted, trying to make him feel bad. It worked. "Fine, I'll dance…but no laughing."

A huge smile grew on her face and she dragged him onto the dance floor. "I'm not promising anything."

"HEY…we're Midnight!" Matt announced over the microphone. "We're gonna be playin' a mix of our own work along with some others…Hit it!"

A rock song began with a loud beat of the drums and a loud guitar pulse before Matt began to add the lyrics in a raspy voice.

"_I see several things_

which can't be seen

two liars now

one you

one me

no truth, no shame

who otta be

the one conflicted

not you but me."

Matt quickly picked up a bottle of water he had on the side and took a huge gulp of it while the guitarist had her solo. There was a little mosh pit trying to start up but Ororo, being the good chaperone that she was, stopped it. Matt got back over to the band and continued.

"_I see nothing of how it used to be_

no one cares about the sea

of tears I cry for you not me

you'll live on with these memories

the agony

and I'll be free

from what used to be

you and me…"__

Tabby was dancing rather dirty with Ray and it didn't seem like either of them minded; however Ororo did. Scott and Jean were over by the snack table talking while Bobby, Sam and Evan were cracking up as they were telling what they thought the two were saying. Rahne was having her ear talked off by this one guy who appeared to be obsessed with werewolves. Jubilee, who was socializing and noticed this, walked over and pulled her away.

"_I don't hold the grudge_

I only wield the pain

in two ways the same

nothing is sane

we're both in pain

can you only blame

you're so vain."

As the song ended, everyone cheered for them and the band took a bow. "Thank you…the DJ will take over for a bit and we'll be back on soon."

Scott was just about to take a drink of his soda when something caught his eye. It was Lance and Todd entering through the doors. "Alvers, what are you doing here?!" he yelled over the music.

Lance and Scott looked like they were just about to lock horns as they stood toe to toe.

Tabitha saw this and stepped in between them. "Whoa easy fellas."

"What the heck are _they _doing here?" Scott asked.

"Chill shades…" She noticed that Lance was still fuming and gestured towards him. "You too Rocky. Okay I invited them…it was the least I could do after stealing his jeep all the time."

Scoot glared at Lance. "They better not try anything or-"

Tabby cut him off. "They won't, they already agreed not to."

"Well fine." Scott said, angrily and walked away.

"Fine." Lance did the same and Todd followed.

Tabby sighed and shook her head. "Men."

Roberto and Amara were off dancing in the corner of the room. Amara stopped and just walked away as he just kept staring at all the other girls in the room.

Kitty was trying to get Marc, to at least try, to dance. The sad part is the he was. "I told you that I'm not good at this, Kat."

She smiled as she began moving her hips, somewhat, seductively to the music. "It's not that hard…watch." She said and continued to dance.

"Oh I'm watching alright…and it is very hard." He replied but thought about what he just said. "That kinda came out wrong."

She giggled and slapped him on the arm. "Get you're mind out of the gutter."

Marc chuckled and stopped dancing. "Well I think I've embarrassed myself enough for now…I'll get us something to drink." He started to walk away but she pulled him back and kissed him. He stood there in a daze for a moment. "What was I going to do again?" he asked and walked away.

Lance caught a glimpse of Kitty dancing alone; it was time to make his move. He walked over behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. "Umm…Kitty…would you mind if I joined you?"

Kitty barely even looked at him. "Yeah, whatever." she replied, reluctantly.

With a sheepish smile, he danced beside her. This was very awkward for the both of them. "Kitty I wanted to say I'm sorry…I didn't start those rumors."

Kitty stared angrily at him. "Save it Lance…it doesn't matter-"

He looked deep into her eyes. "Kitty…I'm telling the truth. I was just as heartbroken as you were, I really care for you. I couldn't do that to you."

She stared into his eyes, really wanting to forgive him. "Lance…I-"

Kitty was interrupted by someone clearing their throat behind Lance. "I thought that I told you to leave her alone."

Lance turned around to see Marc standing behind him with his arms crossed over his chest. "Whoa, man…I just-"

"Lance…go." he said, coldly. Lance walked away, not really wanting to start something in front of her. "Kitty what did he say? If he hurt you in any way I'll-"

Marc didn't stop his rant even as Kitty was talking. "Marc, he was trying to apologize."

"I mean, he doesn't have the right to keep trying-what?"

"Yeah Marc, he was trying to say that he was sorry and you just snapped at him like that. What are you jealous or something?"

"No-well yeah but…you're right, I'll go apologize." He said and walked off to find Lance.

Lance sat down on the couch and sulked. Tabby danced on over to him with two cups in her hands. "Mopey much?"

"Not now Tabs." he said, putting his head in his hands.

She patted him on the back, sympathetically. "Aww…is Shake and Bake feeling heartbroken?" She said with a bogus pout of her lips; he did not seem too amused. "C'mon, Lance…here." She handed him a cup. "Drink up…it'll make you feel better."

He took it a gulped it down; Tabitha raised a brow and handed him he other cup. "Umm…Lance you may want to…" she started and he drank the other cup. "…or you could just ignore my warning." She rolled her eyes and went to go find someone to dance with.

Marc sighed and sat down next to Lance on the couch. "Hey."

Lance grabbed a drink that someone left by the couch. "Hey." He said and took another drink.

Silence.

"Since this is getting very awkward, I just want to say that I'm sorry for going off on you back there." said Marc, folding his hands and leaning forward.

"No problem man…no problem." he said, taking another drink then patting Marc on the back. "It's fine."

"O…k. So we're cool?"

"Yeah man, we're cool."

"Good, see you around." Marc said then walked over to Kitty.

"Well?" Kitty asked, waiting for a response.

Marc nodded. "I told him that I was sorry and he was cool with it…a little too cool about it." The last part to himself.

"Now was that really so hard?"

"Not at all Kit. I think we may actually start getting along."

Kitty smiled and kissed him. "Good…now about those drinks that you were talking about."

Marc smiled into the kiss. "Keep kissing me like that and I'll never get around to getting them. It's just the whole thing with Lance distracted me before but I'll go get them now." he said with a smile and headed over to get two drinks.

Jubes noticed Amara standing by the wall and approached her. "Is the wallflower thing working for you?"

Amara gave a half smile. "There's no one I really feel like dancing with…Roberto is just flirting with every girl in sight."

"So what, are you just going to stand by the wall all night?"

"No…I think I'm gonna go to my room and relax for a while." Amara explained a walked off towards her room. Tabby smiled at Amara as she and walked over to Lance who was still on the couch.

Tabby shook her head at the several cups lying around him. "Lance, maybe you should cut down on the punch?"

"Why…you were right? I makes me feel…gooder." replied Lance, smiling drunkenly. He reached his arms out for a hug. "Come here Tabby…I love you. You're like a sister to me…a no related, blonde, klepto-sister."

"Okay, now I know you're drunk…you should probably stay away from Scott for a bit. If he catches you like this he'll kill me-you." she said catching herself.

"I'm sorry…you're not the klepto, Marc is. He stole my Kit Kat." he mumbled.

Confused, she raised a brow. "Why would Marc steal your candy…oh wait I get it."

He pulled himself to his feet and wobbled for a moment and walked away, dejected. "I'm gonna go home before Marc decides to steal something else of mine like my keys or…my key chain."

Lance stormed out of the party , ran directly into Marc, almost knocking him down. Marc stared at him. "What was that for, man?"

"Oh, let him go Marc. Here have a drink." Tabby said, coming up behind Marc and handing him a cup.

He took a sip and spit it out. "What is this?"

"I like to call it 'Tabby's special drink thing'…it's a working title…"

"Tabitha! What is this?"

"It's just cranberry juice, sprite and some…hard lemonade."

"Hard lemonade? Where did you…never mind. How much did he drink?"

"Just one or two…or, eight cups."

"Dammit…" he trailed off and headed out after Lance, with Tabby following behind. When he got outside, he saw Lance staggering towards his jeep and approached him. "Lance…hey you shouldn't be driving, man."

"You don't tell me what to do." he replied.

Marc put his hand on Lance's shoulder and Lance turned and socked Marc in the jaw, knocking Marc to the ground. "Lance I can't let you drive like this." He said, getting up and approaching Lance again. Lance punched him in the face, again sending Marc back to the ground, and continued walking up to his jeep.

"I'm not letting you leave." Marc snapped, now getting frustrated. Lance took a swing; Marc ducked and then pushed Lance's head into the jeep door, which knocked him out. "I'm sorry…" he said.

"You jerk!" Kitty's voice shouted from behind him. Kitty had come outside just in time to see Marc hit Lance. "I thought you said you two were cool and then you go and attack him like that." She hissed walking over to him.

"Kitty…I-" he tried to explain but was slapped hard her.

"No…I don't want to hear it! Marc, we're through…"

Marc stood there, his eyes watering up a bit. He couldn't think of anything to say.

"Marc...go!" she yelled at him as she knelt down by Lance. "GO!"

He had no clue what to do so he just ran around to the back of the institute. Kitty held Lance's head up in her arms and ran a hand through his hair. "C'mon Lance, wake up."

When he got to the back, Marc began to punch the tree as hard as he could to try to take out some anger. The tears were crawling down his cheeks, he couldn't help it. He needed to think; he gained access through the back entrance of the institute and went looking for a quieter place. He ran straight to his old room and saw Amara. "Sorry...I forgot." he said and started to leave.

"No wait, what's wrong?" she asked, standing up and grabbing Marc on the arm.

He wiped the tears from his eyes but even more poured out. "I…me…Kitty…she dumped me." He leaned on her shoulder weeping.

"Here, sit down." She sat down on her bed as did he. "Now, tell me what happened."

"Lance got drunk an-and was going to drive…" He stammered through the tears. "I tried to stop him, help him, and…Kitty saw me and Lance was knocked out and she thought…and now it's over." he explained, the order of his words mixed.

Amara was still trying put it all together but at least had the gist of it. Kitty had dumped him. She patted his back in an attempt to soothe and calm him.

He laid his head on her shoulder. "I hate letting people seeing me cry."

She hugged him, kindheartedly. "It's okay Marc…it's okay."

He could feel her heart beating faster and she could feel his heart pounding. Marc pulled away from Amara's shoulder and looked at her with his tear-stained eyes. She smiled sympathetically at him.

She lowered her head to him, he brought his head up to her; she tilted her head and their lips met. This wasn't a dream. They ignored every logical thought, letting their emotions, their attraction, and their passion take control.

She fell back onto her mattress and pulled him down on top of her as they continued to kiss. He began kissing her neck gently and she spread her legs slightly so that he would be better fitted against her body. She wrapped her arms around him and a low moan escaped the back of her throat. He placed his hand on her thigh and…

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wow…that rating went from G to R in five seconds...hehe. I wonder what's going to happen……get your minds out of the gutter people.

The song featured in this chapter is called "Sea of Tears" that I wrote…hehe YAY for me!

Please Review.


	31. The After Party

Disclaimer: I only own Marc Maseon and the idea! I don't own the X-Men! Marvel does!

A.p.R. - Last chapter I wrote a song that you all seemed to like but I forgot to mention that psychobunny410 came up with the title for me because I suck at that part of the song writing process…she asked me to tell ya'll that…so thanks psychobunny410!

Also, Behind The Mutants is back and now has it's own web page! Check it out from the link on my profile page.

================================Don't believe everything your foretold=============================

Marc had woken up lying with Amara under the covers of her bed. It was early and he couldn't do anything but panic and get out of there before a soul saw him. He was pretty sure that Tabitha never came to that room last night and if she did he hadn't noticed her.

He had spent most of the morning trying to avoid anyone or at least try to divert their conversations elsewhere. He was so confused, how did last night happen? It was such a very emotional night and his feelings got the best of him. However, that wasn't the real problem, the real problem is what he had to do about this.

He walked into the empty kitchen and made his way to the overhead cabinet and pulled out a cereal bowl. After collecting a big spoon, the gallon of milk and the box of Fruity Pebbles, Marc sat down at the table by himself and began to wolf the fruity flavored corn flakes down. Soon after he finished up his bowl of cereal and deposited it in the industrial sized dishwasher, he decided to head to his room to think.

One step out of the kitchen and into the main room he heard Kitty, Rogue, Kurt and Bobby walking towards the kitchen. He was not in any mood to discuss anything with Kitty right now after what happened the previous night. He ducked into the garage and walked around to steer clear of having to confront Kitty.

X

Amara sat up in bed and stretched her arms in the air while letting out an big over -exaggerated yawn. She smiled, remembering last night and how they kissed and kissed for hours. It was wonderful.

The door to the room opened and, none other than, Tabitha walked into the room. She stumbled over to her bed and toppled over on it, she hadn't slept all night because she was forced to clean up. "What're you smiling at?" she asked Amara, her voice muffled by a pillow.

Amara beamed. "Marc slept in here last night."

Tabby's eyes opened wide at this statement; she was in complete shock at what she just heard. How could this have happened? Why did Amara let this happen? How could she? "HE slept in MY bed!"

"No…he slept in my bed, Tabby."

"Oh ok…" she replied, now calming herself. "Wait…WHAT! He stole your bed and made you sleep in MINE…that jerk!"

Amara giggled. "No, no one slept in your bed…he slept in my bed…with me."

Tabitha's jaw dropped, cartoonishly. "You and him…together…WOW."

"Yeah…wow."

"I only got one question for ya, Amara…" Tabs said, staring at her best friend. "……why didn't he just sleep in my bed or his own for that matter. I mean, I can't think of a reason that he would sleep in here unless…OH MY GOD…did he screw you?!" She shouted, ready to strangle Marc the next time she sees him.

"Eww! Tabby, no…we just kissed and I fell asleep in his arms…it was wonderful."

Tabitha smirked a little smirk. "Soo…ten minutes after he's single you're all over him, huh?"

"You can't tell anyone…you promise?"

"Sure…but only if you do one thing for me?"

"Okay, what is it?"

Tabby, jumped over to Amara's bed. "C'mon, girl! I gotta have some details…"

X

Kitty, Kurt, and Rogue were sitting at the kitchen table talking and having some fruit and other small snacks for breakfast.

"I just can't believe that I did that last night…!" exclaimed Kitty after taking a sip of her orange juice.

The microwave door popped open and Bobby grabbed his breakfast burrito. "Yeah, no offense, but that was a pretty bitchy thing ya did…" he said a bit blasé and took a bite from the burrito. "Mmm…now this…is a good burrito."

"Shut up Bobby, Ah'd have done the same thang in her shoes." Rogue admitted.

"Ja, Keetty didn't know zat Marc vas trying to stop Lance from driving drunk." the only one in the room with a German accent said.

Kitty sighed and propped her head up on her fist. "I was so sure that he, like, wanted to get back at Lance because of the whole 'I'm a macho jealous guy' thing. When he was only trying to protect him."

"Yeeeaaah…and then you slapped him and followed up by dumping him……kind of makes you feel bad, doesn't it?" Bobby asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Vat iz vit you, Bobby?!" shouted Kurt, taking offense to his attack on Kitty.

"Hey? Marc's my best friend, it's not that I have anything against you Kitty…well there was that one time when you gave me food poisoning but that's in the past. I'm just sayin' that I'm gonna side with him on this matter."

Silence fell upon them for a few moments as they took all of this in.

"I'm going to go look for him." Bobby thought aloud as he finished up the rest of his burrito and walked out of the kitchen.

Bobby walked into Marc's room without knocking and saw Marc sitting in a chair by the window. "Hola Marc, what's up?" he greeted.

Marc just turned his head slightly and silently acknowledged him.

Bobby raised a brow at the upsetting look on his friend's face. "Is everything alright, dude? You're not still upset about what happened last night, are you?"

Marc face grew worried. "You know?"

"Yeah, everyone does."

"Really?"

"Mmhmm…I was talking about it to Logan last night."

"Dammit, even HE knows?"

"Well, duh. I mean, you have to be stupid not to know about your fight last night with Kitty."

Marc sighed in relief. "Oh you mean…instead of…yeah."

"So…are you okay, man?"

"Um, yeah, I'm cool. No worries." replied Marc as he looked out of the window.

"Okay, I'll leave you alone so that you can pretend everything's fine." he said to Marc and got up.

Marc needed to get all of this off his chest. He knew he could trust his best friend to keep this a secret. "Wait…I need to tell you something."

Bobby shut the door of the room and sat down on Marc's bed. "Okay, shoot."

Marc took a long, deep breath. "After the fight with Kitty, when she broke up with me, I was very confused. I needed a place to think so I, by chance, ran to my old room and saw Amara."

Bobby scratched the back of his head. "I don't know if I like where this is going."

"She was trying to comfort me as I was crying…one thing led to another and we wound up making out." Marc felt eased following his confession.

"I see…" replied Bobby.

"Please don't think I'm a jerk…it just kinda happened and-"

"Why would I?" asked Frosty. "What you did was perfectly fine…you weren't with Kitty at the time."

Marc held his head in his hands. "Then why do I feel like shit every time I think about it?"

"Come on, there's no reason to get all maudlin about it."

"I have to tell Amara that it was all just a mistake…and then I'll tell Kitty." Marc stated.

"Nooo no no no no no NO!" Bobby responded, gesturing wildly. "You can't tell Kitty, it's suicide…"

"I gotta."

"DON'T."

"Listen man, I've waded through this over in my head and I have to tell her." sighed Marc.

"Pretend like it never happened…you really like Kitty and if you don't want to hurt her you won,t tell her. You didn't cheat on her, so why mention it?"

Marc didn't know what to say to this, maybe he was right and telling her was wrong. "Okay…I won't tell her-for now at least."

"Smart move…she's in the kitchen right now. Go talk to her, play it cool." Bobby advised. Marc nodded and went to go find Kitty leaving Bobby in his room.

Bobby looked around at Marc's room for a minute. "Hey…this room is nicer than mine."

X

As Marc turned out into the side hall, Kitty seemingly came out from nowhere, actually the wall, and crashed into him. As both of them opened their eyes they blushed, now realizing their positions. Kitty was laying on top of Marc.

Kitty looked away, and trying to hide her flush. "Sorry, um, I didn't see…"

"No, no…I should have looked where I was…" he replied, trailing off with and embarrassed smile.

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

"I was just coming to…" They said in unison. "…talk to…you."

Kitty climbed off Marc and tried to help him off the ground but was almost pulled down again. When they were both standing Marc leaned up against a nearby door and Kitty put her hands behind her back.

"Marc, um, about last night…I thought that you-"

"I know what you thought," he said, cutting her off, "and I can't blame you…it did look bad."

"Yep…you know that I didn't mean what I said last night, right?"

"Yeah…well we were both pretty irrational last night." he replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

She gave him a kiss on the lips. "Good," she said and hugged him. "Do you want to go out and do something later?"

"Sure." he replied in a slightly surprised tone.

She smiled. "Great, see ya in a bit. I have to get my stuff ready for school tomorrow." And with that, Kitty took her leave.

Marc's heard a whimpering sound coming from the room across the hall and walked over to investigate. He peeked into the room through the ajar door to see Amara crying on her bed. Tabby, who was sitting next to her, was comforting her heartbroken friend.

They had heard every word spoken by Kitty and Marc. He really wanted to got talk to Amara and explain it all to her but her couldn't bear to see her like this. It was all his fault and he knew it.

He walked back to his room and laid down, not sleeping, just thinking.

X

After a few hours, Marc checked back at Amara's room. She opened the door. "Hi." he said.

"Hi." she replied, stepping to the side and letting him in.

He gulped as she shut the door. "We need to-"

Amara sat down on her bed. "Talk?"

Marc sat down on Tabitha's bed so that they were facing. "Yeah."

"Yeah."

They both avoided eye contact with each other and fidgeted nervously.

He felt an itch on his foot and scratched it with his other foot.

She played with her hair and sighed.

The clock on the wall ticked and the chirpings of baby birds could be heard outside. Other than that, silence.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Gotta love awkward silences. Please review and check out the Behind The Mutant website.


	32. Chapter 32: The Thirty Second Chapter

A.pR. - Hello all! I got my 200th review! Does happy dance Thanks again to all my readers for supporting this story.

It seems I've got most of you to hate Marc…well, as you know, there was a love triangle going on. But eventually that triangle will have to be bisected by a perpendicular line. Anywho, Marc and Amara may not be done…or it could be over with…I'll let you think about that.

--------------------------------Don't count you chickens with a hammer-------------------------------------

After Marc and Amara's little talk, they ironed most of the stuff out. Amara did not want to hate Marc, even though he pretty much deserved it, so they agreed to put it behind them and continue on with their friendship. Easier said than done.

Everyone else was still in the dark on the matter, well almost everyone, Tabby and Bobby knew. However, Marc and Amara made them promise not to tell. Tabby wanted to tell, she wanted Marc to pay for toying with Amara…but, gosh darn it, she promised her best friend…well that and the fact that she forgot to cross her fingers.

A couple of weeks passed by like a flash and everything was getting back to normal at 'Mutant Manor.' Over those two, odd, weeks though, Amara and Marc had hardly spoken a syllable to each other. Marc had lost a great friend in Amara, it hurt him but he knew he deserved it.

On a lighter note, Kitty and Marc had grown closer as he wasn't spending a good deal with Amara anymore. Ray and Tabby seem to have hit it off well, two fun loving teens who love to be mischievous…could there be a better fit?

Rahne and Sam haven't yet decided to go out on a 'DATE' date yet but their relationship has taken great strides forward. For example, Sam and Rahne can now look at each other without blushing. Aw, ain't 'puppy' love cute…I know, I know, bad pun.

Right now, most of the students are pouring into the mansion from the long boring school day at beloved Bayville High. Marc strolled into the mansion, holding hands with Kitty and the couple headed over to the couch to relax and watch some TV.

On their way to the rec-room Marc spied Amara and Roberto in the kitchen together, flirting. Marc quickly looked away. "I guess I'm easily replaced." he thought to himself.

Once in the rec-room, Kitty and Marc sat down but to there chagrin, Kurt and Jamie were playing XBOX.

"Um…can you guys, like, play that stupid game another time?" she asked, naively. Poor girl, she didn't understand the addictiveness of video games.

Jamie and Kurt's eyes fixated on her in disbelief. "Vhat did you just zay…did you juzt call Halo…a stupid game?"

Marc stepped in front of her. "She didn't know, she didn't understand…spare her!" he cried, feigning urgency.

Kitty was confused and rightfully so, she didn't care too much for video games. She didn't see the point to them really.

"Kitty, video games…help build hand-eye coordination and let you become someone else and escape reality for a while." protested Jamie.

Kitty smiled and nodded, of course just faking it. "Oh yeah, and you also forgot about the seizures and the fact that it screws with your eye sight."

Kurt shook his head and looked back at the screen. Seconds later he fell back and started rolling on the floor. "Ach mein Gott! Keetty! Ah! I'm blind! Vhere did you go?!" he cried and peeked up at Kitty to see her reaction. "Oh and…I feel a zeizure coming on…oh whoa is me…" added the fuzzy one.

Kitty smacked him, hard, on the shoulder. "Ha, ha. Very funny."

Jamie casually scooted away from her, not really wanting to be her next target. "C'mon Kitty, wanna play?"

"Okay, but, go easy on me, okay…?" she asked and Jamie nodded and handed her and Marc a controller. "Because I've never played this before and I…"

Marc looked at her and then looked at and sighed, he reached over and helped her with her controller, which was upside down. This was going to be…interesting. Yeah that's it.

X

"You guys know what, we didn't do this year?" Evan asked some of the New Mutants as they were all outside of the mansion. "We never had a snowball fight!" he said and picked up some slush and threw it at Ray.

It was a mutant tradition to have a snowball fight every winter, however this year everyone had forgotten. Though the snow was scarce as it was early spring now, there was still enough to have a little snowball fight.

"Evan! That was just uncalled for." Ray groaned and tossed his backpack aside and balled some snow. "Now, you shall pay…ha ha ha ha." he added, laughing like an old Kung Fu movie villain.

Tabby laughed and threw some snow at the back of Ray's head. Ray's stare suddenly focused on her. He drew his arm back and slung a ball of slushy snow at her. Tabitha ducked, making him missed.

The snowball soar through the air, it was coming straight at Jubilation. Bobby, who was to the side of her, noticed this and gasped. He dove in front of her and by her, so that he, himself, was out of danger; the ball of snow him Jubes in the arm.

"Very heroic, Icee…very heroic." Tabs chuckled, sardonically.

X

Meanwhile, moments later.

They had just started up a multiplayer game of Halo and Marc was teaching Kitty how to play.

"Okay, now Kitty, you press this button," Marc leaned over and pointed to the button, "to hit someone when they're near you and…" he started to explain but stopped short as Kitty killed him in the game. "Hey!"

"Ooo, did I do that right?" she beamed.

Marc set his controller on his lap. "Yeah…but you could have waited of me to explain before you killed-"

"Oh there's someone…" she cheered as she cut him off. "How do you pick up that big gun?" she asked, quickly.

Marc sighed. "You press the X button but-" he was cut off again as she swiftly picked up the rocket launcher and killed Marc's guy again. "That's it, no more Mr. Nice guy…"

-Twenty minutes later-

Kurt was lying on the floor with the controller on his face, even though he was the one playing. Jamie was leaning on the couch, languorously. Marc was leaning his head on Kitty's shoulder.

Kitty had her tongue out to the side of her mouth as she passionately concentrated on the game at hand, rapidly pressing buttons.

Kurt sighed. "Vow Jamie, vhat a bright idea asking her to to play vith us…" he whined.

"Hey how was I supposed to know that she would be good?" protested Jamie.

Marc stared ahead at the TV screen, blankly. "She killed each of us twenty-three times in the last twenty minutes…she is no woman. NO…she's an unstoppable killing machine." he said in a deadpan tone.

The sound of an explosion and a deep voice saying "killing spree" came from the video game. Kitty jumped up and cheered. "Lost again, Kurt! Woohoo!" she taunted and did a little jig of victory.

Marc sighed heavily as he laid down on the couch. "Yes Kitty…yes you did."

"So…who's next?" she said with a glint in her eye.

"Count me out…I'm too depressed to play." Kurt said, stood, and walked out of the room.

Jamie dropped his controller and walked out of the room, briskly.

Kitty stomped her foot in aggravation. "Get back here and die you big babies!"

Marc gulped as he was the only one left. All escape routes were blocked. He was screwed.

"Why did they just get up and go like that?" she whined, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Now Kit-Kat…um…you kind of scared them off…" he said then covered up so she wouldn't hit him.

"How?" she asked, loudly.

"Well with all the shouting and the taunting…"

"Whatever…well, now it's just you and me." she said with a smirk. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

He smiled, happily. "I hope so."

"Good." she said joyfully and tossed a controller at him. "Let's play"

Marc pouted. "I was thinking of pulling off the sofa cushions and making a love fort…"

Kitty cheered. "Ha! I killed you again!"


	33. The Exploding Trophy Incident

Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men because Marvel does...but if they didn't then I would. So, hah.

A.p.R - He guys, I'm back! Been really busy with school but I'm back now. Thanks for the reviews, you guys are great. Chaotic Jinx you can go ahead and use Marc if you want to, if you need any more info just email me or something.

---------------------And hootenanny, well, it's chalk full of hoot and just a bit of nany-------------------------

Today was the day of Bayville High's annual 'BHS Pride' assembly. Which is just a nice way of saying 'It's Jock Day' and we are forcing each and every one of you unwilling students to sit through forty-five minutes of jocks ramble on about things that no one give a crap about! Sorry about that.

The event is a tribute to the winter sports that were coming to an end and the spring sports that were beginning. Nobody like to go to these things especially the mutants, well it is a perfect opportunity to be discriminated against them with innuendo.

They have already had to sit through all the other assemblies this year, but this time Jubilee had a plan to escape the legal form of torture that was an assembly. All she needed was a team.

* * *

Bobby was sitting at his desk taking notes when he saw Jubes outside the door signaling for him to come out there.

He raised his hand. "Mr. Rankin, can I use the bathroom?"

"I don't know, can you?"

Bobby groaned. "Okay may I use the bathroom?"

"No you just went five minutes ago."

"Okay then…can I go to the nurse?"

"Sure."

Bobby walked out of the room, met her, and making sure no one saw them, they dashed away.

* * *

Amara and Marc had Biology and they were dissecting frogs today. Amara started to feel sick, but this project was worth a lot of the final grade, so fighting back her gag reflex she slit the dead amphibian open. Poor Kermit.

Marc, however, could not seemed to hold on to his slippery froggy and it was flying everywhere.

"Darn!" Marc grumbled to himself as the frog slipped out of his grasps and slid to the door, "Stupid dead frog…you think you're so smart."

He went to pick it up, and noticed Bobby outside the door's window.

"Mr. Zoeller me and Amara have to go to…help set up the assembly." he improvised, and the two were free.

* * *

After rounding up Sam, Ray, and Tabitha, they had a meeting in the janitor's closet. Marc and Amara were making sure to stay decently far away from each other and Tabby and Ray were sticking close together.

"Are we going to get in trouble for this?" Amara asked, sheepishly.

Sam shook his head. "Naw, Jubes said we..."

"Jubilee _says _a lot of things…" commented Marc.

"Okay here's the plan…" Jubes cupped her hand to Bobby's ear.

Bobby giggled deviously.

Jubes rolled her eyes. "Yeah, okay, now shut up so I can tell you the plan."

"Hey, we can't hear." Ray complained.

"Fine!" she snapped, "What we're going to do is…"

* * *

Kelly was standing at the podium with several plaques on a wooden table. He was sharply dressed in this year's top principal fashion, with his tan-ish business suit and blue tie.

In the bleachers sat, Jubes and the others. They each knew their jobs and they carried through with them already. Jubes made the plans so that no one would get hurt...hopefully.

Marc and Sam were responsible for taking care of Principal Kelly's note cards. They both were waiting for him to start to see if he would fall for it.

Kelly smiled and waved to the students. "Hello and good afternoon, BHS Eagles." he said and Marc and Sam smirked. "It's a fine day for a hootenanny? I don't remember it saying that but, oh well." he said, quietly.

"Well, I think you all know why we're here. We are all here to commemorate the fine athletics teams of this year so far, they had no special advantages over anyone else save for their strive." he said and moved away from the podium. "We all no that Bayville football this year was a horrendous and humiliating attempt at a classic game." he said.

Everyone was just looking at each other in confusion and suddenly started booing. Kelly, shocked, looked at his cards quickly and realized what he was saying.

He held his hand up in the air to get their attention. "Sorry students, it appears I have the same speech writers as the President." he said, drawing laughs from the students.

"Drat." Marc snapped his fingers. "Damn snappy comebacks."

"It's okay, that was just the first try…don't worry." told Jubes, resting her head on her fist.

Bobby and Jubes' plan was ready next…

Kelly smiled and held his hand out to the side. "Well here is your, Bayville High State runners-up!" he cheered. And the football team came jogging out in their uniforms.

None of them was aware that they were heading straight for where Bobby had frozen a spot on the floor. The team ran right over is, creating splashes. It seems that Iceman forgot to take in to account that the lights would melt the ice. He received a good smack for that. "Nice going, Popsicle…"

"Sorry…"

"We still have one more try at this…and I took care of the whole thing with Amara." Tabby said and snuck off.

"Let's hope so."

A few minutes later the mascot of the school charismatically wheeled out a cart with the football trophies on it. The mascot looked up at Jubes, gave her a thumb up, and 'accidentally' ran into Duncan while going to the changing room.

Out of breath, the eagle took off its head and revealed a mischievous blonde mutant underneath. "This is really uncomfortable…" Tabitha whined, taking off the suit quickly and heading back up to the others.

"Now for this year's QB of the Year Award recipient Duncan Mathews!" Kelly announced. "A round of applause for Mr. Mathews, everyone." he said and the majority started clapping.

Coach Bailey handed him the shiny trophy and Duncan held it up over his head. Suddenly, little flash explosions were set off in all the trophies, including the one in Dunc's hands.

Duncan's eyes widened as did everyone's when the ground under the auditorium rose up a little. Everyone gasped, the football teamed jumped as the trophies and plaques were falling off the base. Kelly stumbled a little and as suddenly as it started the event was over.

Duncan, who fell during this, was freaked out to the extreme.

Kelly, professionally, regained his composer and picked up the mic. "Well, I didn't know Bayville had its own fault line…" he said with a slight chuckle.

"You already used that one!" a student up in the top commented.

"Yeah well…assembly dismissed. It will be made up tomorrow at the same time." he said and the students began leaving. "Good day."

Jubes, Tabitha, Bobby, Amara, Sam, and Marc were pretty confused now.

"Was that Lance?" Amara asked.

"No, he didn't come to school."

"Maybe Bayville does have a fault line."

They shrugged, mainly just hoping that Scott, or anybody else for that matter, would figure out about the exploding trophy incident.

* * *

Please review. 


	34. The Cautionary Tale of High School Fight...

Disclaimer: You'd think one would be enough.....you thought wrong! I own nothing, what do you think it changed since last week? NO, no it did not.

A.p.R - Thanks guy for the reviews. And yes, I had to poke some fun at Bush in the last chapter...hehe. I'm glad that some of you enjoyed the last chapter. This chapter will include small cameos from supporting characters from the comics. Thanks.

-----"Well, does looking at guns make you want to have sex?" "I'm 17. Looking at linoleum makes me want to have sex."-----

Rahne darted out of the Professor's office, in wolf form, and headed to tell her best friend some great news. She ran to Sam and Roberto's room but Sam wasn't there.

Roberto looked up from his yearbook, where he was circling every hot girl there was in school, at Rahne. "S'up, pup?"

She tilted her head and looked at him.

"What Lassie? Little Jamie fell in the well and he can't get out?" teased Robbie. Rahne growled. "Okay, okay, sorry, geez Cujo chill. You looking for Sammy? Sorry haven't seen him."

She let out a disappointed whine and continued searching. Rahne had searched everywhere and she still couldn't find him. She had checked all of his favorite in-mansion hangouts; the garage and the kitchen and the…well, garage. She decided to take a break, crossed her paws and laid her head upon them.

She couldn't wait to tell Sam this news. When she woke up she was called to see the Professor, he said there was important news. He informed her that she was going to be able to go high school with him and the others.

The school board at Bayville Elementary believed that she would benefit more from completing the year in high school. She was so excited, she couldn't keep her tail from wagging; she didn't like when it did that but she couldn't help it. "Where in the world is that boy?"

Suddenly, her ears perked up as his voice was heard. He had been working out with Marc and Scott in the weight room. Rahne would never think of looking there. She had never set foot in there since Kitty tried to lift a heavy weight and dropped it on her tail.

Sam walked into the room and she ran and leaped at him.

"Rahne?!" he cried out in confusion as he was tackled to the ground.

She began licking his face.

"What's going on?" he giggled as her tongue tickled his face. She got off of him, morphed into human form, and helped him from the ground.

"Sorry…I get over excited sometimes." she explained still a bit giddy. "The Professor told me that, starting Monday…I'll be goin' to school with you." she added ridiculously fast and latched onto him in a hug.

He hugged her back. "Rahne that's great, we'll get ta hang out more."

"Aye, it is," Her smile widened as she remembered. "Oh and I'm in two of your classes."

Sam smiled and kissed her on the cheek. "Can't wait 'til Monday."

* * *

Well Monday rolled along quite quickly and it was time for school once again. Sam and Rahne hitched a ride with Kitty and Marc. Once they arrived at school Marc kissed Kitty and she headed to her life-facts class to get an early start on her cooking. Sam wrapped his arm around Rahne as the two and Marc neared the entrance of Bayville High. 

Duncan and his friends, Brandon and Steve, were leaned up against the outside wall.

Duncan snickered as the three passed. "Freaks."

"Ignore 'em Sam, Rahne." advised Marc.

"Yeah you FREAK ignore me." mocked Duncan. "What's a matter Guthrie? Couldn't get a high school chick so you get some grade school bitch?"

Dunc's crew cackled.

"Heh, heh…it's funny cuz it's true." Steve chuckled.

Marc just kept walking as Sam was getting irritated. "Keep walking, Sam" Marc said, almost growling at Duncan.

Sam stopped walking and turned to Duncan, "What the Hell is wrong with you?"

Rahne tried pulling his arm. "Let it go Sam."

"Just…just gimmie a second." he said and got into Dunc's face. "Do ya think that just because you're some big jock you can do and say whatever ya want ta people?"

"Yeah." replied Duncan, smugly. "What are you going to do about it?"

Sam was almost seething, he was always told that violence was not the way to solve things, but he insulted a woman. There was no excuse for that. So he clenched his fist, drew his arm back, and before he could throw his punch he was punched in the face.

Sam fell back and Marc tackled Duncan, but was quickly pulled off and held for Duncan to use him as a punching bag. Duncan began to deliver quick jabs to his ribs.

Rahne ran at Duncan but he pushed her to the ground and continued his assault on Marc. Sam regained his bearings and hit Duncan in the side of his face; this gave Marc an opportunity. He broke one arm free and elbowed Steve in the chest, swung his arm back to hit him in the face then flipped Brandon over his shoulder by his arm.

Duncan pushed Sam into a wall, then Rahne punched Dunc in the jaw. He pushed her away this time harder. Sam began to fume; he tackled him and began to punch him continuously. Principal Kelly, some faculty members and the on-campus police officers came running through the doors and pulled Sam off Duncan.

Marc and Sam were put into handcuffs and Rahne was taken to the principal's office with them. The others involved just received slaps on the wrist.

After being led into Kelly's office, the three mutants were seated in three chairs in front of his desk.

Kelly took a seat and looked at the three before him. "Mr. Maseon we meet again, this is the second time for fighting in such a short time."

Marc smiled, sarcastically. "Well what can I say? I was just yearning to talk with you again."

Kelly shook his head and pressed on. "Mr. Guthrie, Ms. Sinclair; I would never expect to see either of you here. I hope you all realize that this warrants an automatic one week suspension and for you, Ms. Sinclair, you will no longer be able to attend BHS."

Sam's eyes widened and he looked over at Rahne. Her eyes were watery and red as if she was going to cry; he couldn't let this happen to her. She had her heart set on coming here and he wasn't going to let anything stop that.

He gulped and took a deep breath. "I…I started it, neither o' these two were involved."

Marc looked at Sam in confusion.

"So you say that these two didn't have anything to do with the fight?" Sam nodded. "Well I guess that you two can go…but I'll be keeping my eyes on you." said Kelly and an officer un-cuffed Marc then escorted them out of the room.

Once outside Marc turned to Rahne. "Why'd he do that?"

"He did it fer me…" She replied, sadly. She knew he had done it for her; she knew that he did this so she could stay in high school and not have to be sent back to elementary school. He didn't know that the reason she wanted to be here was for him. "Darn that boy."

* * *

Later that night, Sam was getting a long distance lecture over the phone. "Samuel Guthrie, Ah thought Ah raised yah better than that! Pickin' fights at school just doesn't seem like yah…maybe the institute has had a bad influence on yah?" 

"Ma, let me explain…" pleaded Sam but trailed off as he heard his siblings yelling in the background.

"Momma! Momma! Paigey's poking' me again." Josh whined.

"No I ain't! Joshy is a liar." Paige protested.

Josh moaned, loudly. "I'm not lyin'…look, she's pokin' me now."

"Oops…" Paige said and Sam could tell that she was flashing her innocent smile. The one she used when she was caught red-handed.

"Hold on a second, Sam." Lucinda, Sam's mother said and set down the phone. "Paige, stop that now. How many times do Ah gotta tell yah…now beatin' up or pokin' the boys."

"Yes momma," she sighed, hung her head, and marched off to find something else to do but not before glaring at Josh. Josh smiled and stuck his tongue out.

Lucinda picked up the phone again to continue the conversation with her eldest son. "Fahne, explain then."

Sam took a deep breath. "Okay, well we were walkin' ta class and these guys insulted this girl-"

"Was it that, Rahne, girl yah have the crush on?"

"Maaaa…" Sam moaned in embarrassment.

"Sorry, sorry, finish ya little story…so you were walking with yah girlfriend and then what?"

Sam rolled his eyes. "Well they hit her an' Ah couldn't let 'em get away with that kinda treatment towards a woman…so there was a fight."

"So yah did this to help a girl, huh?" she said, pondering her son's punishment. "Now Sam, Ah'm proud a yah for stickin' up for her…so Ah can't be mad at yah. I'll let yah off the hook if yah promise to stay out of trouble."

"Yes momma, Ah promise…I'll talk to yah soon, I love you, bye."

"Love yah too. Bye Sam…Jeb, get down from there-" she said before hanging up the phone.

Sam smiled and hung up his end of the line.

"Hey, Sam!" Rahne yelled at him as she entered the room, in her pajamas.

"Yeah, Rahne-" he started to reply but was cut off by a punch in the gut from her. "What was that for?"

"Why did ye lie ta Kelly about you startin' that pilgit earlier?" she said, referring to the fight. You see 'pilgit' is a Scottish term for fight or quarrel…moving on.

"Ah didn't want yah ta have ta go back ta the other school." Sam said, doubled over.

"That's just dumb." she said, crossing her arms over her chest, and turning away from him.

"You were so excited about goin'…Ah wasn't quite imagining this reaction though." he said, now standing up straight but still holding his stomach.

"Well what where ye expecting?" Rahne asked, stubbornly.

He looked at her with a raised brow. "I…"

"You know the only reason I wanted ta go ta that stupid school was so that I could be with you." she hissed.

Sam's eye's widened at this. "Rahne…I'm…um, I…with me?"

"Well I didn't go there to be harassed…I thought I could handle being just friends but I couldn't." she poured.

Sam smiled warmly walked over so that he could be facing her. "Rahne…Ah thought that's what yah wanted?"

"No…I never wanted that…I thought that's what ye wanted?"

"No…"

They stood in an awkward silence for a moment.

"Sam…I best be getting to bed, I have ta get up for school in the morning." she said, shyly.

"Oh…yeah."

"Yeah…" she replied with a nod and started walking away.

Sam grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back. "One more thing, Rahne." And with that, Sam and Rahne shared their first kiss.

Rahne smiled/giggled as she scampered off to bed for the night and Sam just blushed. "Ah can't believe Ah just did that." He smiled. " he said as a side note and headed off to bed himself.

* * *


	35. Scary Movie

Disclaimer: I own nothing in this chapter but the idea and Marc Maseon.

A.p.R. - Too the fans of this story…I am so sorry. I have earned the badge of shame from one anonymous reviewer. Why-oh-why?! I made Remy speak in dialect not used in the EVO universe…I've ruined the whole story with that! Forgive me! I shall wear that had badge and I shall travel with that for the rest of my life............SARCASM!

--------------------------------She walked into my office like a centipede with 98 missing legs--------------------------------

Kitty groaned in disgust. "Marc, why didn't you tell me about this?!"

"I swear, I never thought you'd find out." Marc defended.

"And that makes it better? But off all things to lie about…you'd do _that _behind my back?!" shouted Kitty.

"I told you, I'm sorry!" Marc said, now getting aggravated with her.

"That doesn't matter, not after you…after what you did." she barked, turning away from her, and crossing her arms over her chest.

Marc rolled his eyes and held his hands up. "I didn't do anything wrong, so I don't see how I'm the bad guy here!"

She glared at him out of the corner of her eye. "Well you are, I mean, how could you not even think to tell me and just ignore it...you had to figure that I'd figure it out someday!"

"Yeah and how exactly did you figure it out?" he said, accusingly glaring at the so-called friend next to him.

Bobby pointed at himself, surprised by this accusation. "Who? Me?"

Marc glared. "Yes you!"

"Couldn't be!"

"Then who…?" Marc snapped.

"What is up with you guys?" asked Roberto, walking into the living room. "Me and Ray do it all the time."

Kitty's eyes widened. "REALLY?"

"Yep…" he said, sitting down on the couch.

Rahne shook her head. "Aye, I think you're all overreacting a bit…all he did was go get some burgers with Sam and me…"

"Yeah, you're probably right…" Marc said, calming down quickly.

Kitty sighed, dropping her arms to her sides. "I guess so…" she semi-whined.

Marc walked over to Kitty, putting her hands in his, and smiled at her. "Kitty, I know how much you hate people eating meat…but I'm not a vegetarian…"

Kitty sighed. "Well you could at least try to, like, try."

"Kit, I recall you making me eat tofu and salads for a week." he said, a wry smile on his face.

"And I remembering you eating bacon on, like, the very first day…" she retorted.

Bobby laughed. "Well it's a lot better then that fake bacon that you eat."

Tabitha sauntered into the room. "Okay, all this yelling is making me hungry…"

"Wow, usually it has the opposite effect on you," Ray commented, doing his best to stay out of the other argument by hiding behind a news paper, "it usually makes ya wanna blow things up."

Jubes said, overhearing the conversation. "Dude, that is _so _not the opposite of that."

Ray mock-mimicked her.

Tabby reemerged from the fridge with all the necessary to make a Hawkwich. 'What's a Hawkwich?' you may ask, well a Hawkwich is a delicious snack for all!

She heated two blueberry Eggo Waffles.

"Umm, Tabby…what are you making?" Marc asked, a brow raised.

She stuck her tongue to the side of her mouth as she solely devoted her attention to opening the damn peanut butter jar. With all her might, she twisted the lid; it flew off and hit Scott, who was walking into the kitchen.

Scott, taken by surprise, fell to the ground as the microwave beeped. "Waffles are ready…" he said from the ground, slowly getting up.

"Sorry, Captain…just too hungry to talk." she said, digging into the peanut butter with a spoon then dumped the slab of it on one of the waffles.

Scott shook his head. "Well, next time could you be a little more careful when you're…opening jars?" he said, walking out of the room.

She ignored him and smushed the other waffle onto it. "I present to you…a Hawkwich!" she said and immediately commenced the devouring of the snack.

"Hey guys…you wanna watch a scary movie?" drawled Rogue, holding up a DVD rental box.

"I don't like scary movies." Marc stated, shaking his head.

"Why?"

"I don't like seeing people killed…even if it's fake."

"You don't have to watch it," told Kitty, "but you and me can just take the XBOX into the living room and-"

"Horror movie it is!" he said, quickly and walked off just as quick.

* * *

With the help of no one, Rogue transformed the rec-room into a dark, dreary, room full of mutants and pure horror. It's amazing what a few left over fake spider webs from Halloween and a few black sheets over the windows could do. There were some cinnamon candles to boot...okay, cinnamon was not quite the scent of fear, but it was close.

"So what are we watching anyways?" Marc asked as he sat in the back of the room with Kitty sitting, snuggly, on his lap.

"We are going to watch…" Robert picked up the DVD case and looked at the side. "Oh, I love this movie!" he cheered and snuck back over to Amara and sat, putting his arm around her.

"Well…what is it?"

Rogue smile. "It's called, 'I Know What You Did When You Thought No One Was Look But I In Actuality Was'…it's a classic."

"Wow, that title just-- rolls off the tongue." said Marc, a sardonically smile on his face.

She then turned the player on and placed the disc in; after the previews, the movie started.

Bobby put faked a yawn and put his arms around Ray and Sam. "Bobby!" the two yelled in unison.

"Fine, fine…I was only kidding," he whispered and they both smacked him in the arm. "Ow…" he whined and they all went back to watching the movie.

On the screen: a young woman and her boyfriend are walking to her car as eerie music plays, she trips and falls. She turns and looks around, hearing a sound.

"Marc, you're getting a bit squeezy." Kitty whispered to her boyfriend, sitting across his lap. "I need to breath, ya know?"

"Sorry." he said and blushed, he was a little scared right now. He released his grip.

She smiled. "I wouldn't mind save for the fact that my lungs need that pesky oxygen stuff."

The man helped the woman in the movie up and looked around once more only to see dreary nothingness. She waked up to her BMW and opened the car door and they enter, turning on the ignition and pulling out of the parking lot.

Tabby and Ray were poking fun at the film as they whispered back and forth.

"I bet five bucks, that chick is gonna die first?" Ray offered.

Tabby shook her head. "Hell no, I bet that dude's Spidey-sense will start tingling soon." she said with a slight laugh.

"By the looks of that chick, he'll be having a tingling sensation in his-"

"SHH!" Evan hushed. Tabby made a face at him and 'accidentally' tossed a little boom-ball into his bowl of popcorn. Needless to say, the popcorn flew.

"Tabby!" Everyone scolded.

"Shh," she replied, "I'm tryin' to watch the movie." She tilted her head at Ray. "Geez, some people just don't have manners."

They drove along a dark and foggy highway, unknowing that a man was yards in front of them. Closer and closer they came to the man in the middle of the highway still not taking notice of his presence.

Marc and Jamie closed their eyes, thinking the worst.

The car came within feet of the man and…

Jamie and Marc gasped in unison.

The man was on the other side of the high way; he was in no real danger at all.

They sighed in relief at this. Kitty tried to keep from laughing at the two. She leaned back against his chest, rested her neck on his shoulder, and nibbled at his ear to see the reaction she would get.

Marc smiled, his eyes wide, and basked in the sensation until she pulled away. "What was that for?" he asked, quietly, still smiling.

"Oh nothing." she replied, resting her back against his chest.

"That not nothing _that _was indefinitely something, Kit-Kat." he said, smiling.

She shifted her weight a little to the side and placed her hand on his. "I just wanted to see what you'd do."

He gently moved her hair to the right, revealing her neck. "Well was it what you expected?" he said, placing gentle kisses on her neck.

Kitty started to giggle. Rogue became annoyed by this quite quickly, slid a glove off her pale hand, and gave Marc a little tap on the hand with her pinky.

"Gah! Ouch…what was that for?" Marc demanded, shaking his around.

"Save the hanky-panky for later." she ordered, her brow furrowed.

Kitty slid off Marc's lap and sat to the right of him, Jamie was on his left.

* * *

Jubes was ready to go on her normal shopping routine at Bayville Mall but this time it looked like she was going to alone for once. Everyone worth asking was watching the movie.

She even asked Rahne, but that girl has know fashion sense. And she thought that dogs were supposed to have good senses. Plus Rahne always chews all of her sweaters up in her sleep. Rahne said that the bunny on the sweater was just taunting her but Jubes thought differently.

She spotted Ororo, who was skinning potatoes over the sink, and made a beeline for her. "Hey,-Ororo-will-you-go-to-the-mall-with-me?"

The weather witch did not look up from her work as she came upon a particularly tough potato. "No dear, ask Logan."

Jubes nodded and walked into the next room. Logan was eating Coco Puffs as the young firecracker walked up to him. "Professor says that you have to take me to the mall."

Logan grunted as he mumbled. "Chuck, you gotta learn…I ain't a Chauffeur."

"I heard that, and of course you aren't…you're not yet certified and you haven't got your diploma from Chauffeur College…now be a good boy and go put on your cap and suit and lets hit the road." she said, leaving the room and headed to the garage.

Logan sighed, he couldn't argue with that illogical logic.

* * *

A couple was walking up the high school girls dressing room to have some "alone time." Yeah, that's what we'll call it. However, little did they know, where was a menacing figure lurking behind them, matching them step for step.

Marc wanted to scream at the couple to run but he was too afraid of what Rogue would do to him. So he just clenched his fists on the couch; Jamie was doing the same.

The silhouette behind them drew a large knife from his belt and stalked the couple. Within inches of the man, he raised the blade and-

Scott opened the door suddenly and everyone screamed out in fright. Marc and Jamie were clinging to each other in a tight embrace, their hearts pounding in terror.

Scott raised a brow at this sight. "Um…" he said and paused then left the room after a few moments. He poked his head back in, cautiously. "I…um-" he added but as cut off by several pillows being hurled at him.

He looked at Jean, who was standing outside the door with him.

"Did you tell them that we get to go to the annual carnival when it's here next weekend?" she asked.

Shades looked down at his shoes. "No…"

"Why?"

"I'd...rather not say." he said, shaking his head.

She sighed and, through telepathy, contacted them with the info.

"Now really, Scott," She looked at him and raised a brow, "was that so hard?"

"They threw pillows at me." he complained, trying to one up her.

Jean rolled her eyes and just walked away.

"Well they did…" he protested.

* * *

Thanks for reading this chapter! Please Review, my friends. 


	36. The Carnival 1of2

Disclaimer: I own none of the X-Men Marvel does. Rick Carter belongs to animeluvr1...kind of.

A.p.R. - The character, Rick, is the star of "Bittersweet" by animeluvr1. Check it out sometime.

---------------------------------------------Aw, Cheez-it!-------------------------------------------

Cotton candy, rides, and games. Yes folks, it's carnival time and Bayville is in the spirit. You see, once a year this carnival comes into town and, for the most part, raises the happiness level of this town that was on the verge of mutant and human segregation. This carnival was something for everyone to enjoy.

"Want me to win you a prize?" Bobby asked with a smile.

Jubes smiled and nodded. "That would be so sweet of you to do that." she said and gave him a kiss for good luck.

Bobby threw the dart directly at the balloon and it bounced off. "Hey!" snapped Bobby at the booth manager.

Kitty and Marc came over after seeing this. Kitty herself was enjoying eating a tasty caramel apple and Marc was walking beside her with his hands in his leather jacket. That was one thing Marc loved about his powers, he never got warm no matter what he was wearing.

Marc leaned up against the side of the booth and looked at the Carney. "Dude, is this thing rigged?" he asked, raising a brow.

The Carney snickered. "How dare you insult this carnival's reputation by accusing us of-"

"HEADS UP…" A familiar Cajun's voice said from a distance and a rock came flying just passed the man's face and collided with a balloon. The balloon simply bounced the jagged stone off.

Remy smirked at and walked over to the man. "Well, kids, it look to me like we got us a scam artist on our hands." he said, leaning over to taunt the man. "Remy t'ink ya betta reward us fo' findin' you out."

"Now, why the hell would I do that?" The Carney protested.

"You know what blackmail is?" Marc said, catching on to this game.

"I…" he man sighed in defeat. "Fine, hurry up…"

Jubes quickly grabbed a large white tiger stuffed animal and Marc grabbed Kitty a purple dragon that looked like the one that Rogue had drawn all over. Remy grabbed a heart-shaped pillow for a certain southern goth we all know and love.

"T'anks, monsieur…you've been very kind." he said with a wink and then walked off to find Rogue.

Jubilee hugged her tiger then gave Bobby a big hug. "I'll let you pretend that you won this for me."

Bobby smiled. "You're so cool."

"I know. So what should we name it?"

"Name what…?" he asked.

"The tiger…let's name him Stephan."

Bobby nodded. "Cool, but it could be better…"

"What do you suggest?"

"How about Stephan Roberto L.A.?" he offered.

"Sounds fine to me." she said, smiling, as they strolled off in search of further fun.

Marc presented the dragon to Kitty and she smiled then pressed her lips to his. There was only one problem though. Kitty's lips had caramel residue on them and they stuck to his lips. "Ow, ow, ow, ow…" They whined in unison as they tried to break this sticky kiss.

"Well maybe just a hug would due for now…" Marc said, his lips burning.

She nodded and hugged around his chest, snuggling against him.

"Kitty?" he said, quietly.

"Yeah…" she said, in a dazed tone.

"I think your apple's stuck in my hair…"

* * *

Tabitha Smith was bored, _never _a good thing, but this time was different. She was stuck in a dull boredom; Ray was at home, sick with a cold and Amara was off with her boyfriend, Roberto. What was a girl to do?

She was walking and was lost in a group of people and somehow wound up in the line for the 'Tunnel of Love' so she went with it.

"Hmm…" An intrigued, Latino's, voice said looking at her from afar. He was picking up his change that he dropped and upon standing up he saw the blonde bombshell. He separated his ear length shaggy hair from in front of his eyes. "Wow…" he said, now astonished by Tabitha.

"C'mon Rick, you don't have that much change…" Doug said, looking back at the entranced teen.

"I'll um…I'll meet up with you guys in a bit." he said, not really paying much attention to the conversation. Doug shrugged it off and left with the others.

Maybe it was her smile or how she moved but Rick was completely and utterly crushing on this girl he had never even met.

He had to talk to her so he quickly got in the men's line; she was so far ahead though, she would probably be going with someone else. He had to act fast.

He hit the ground and started crawling underneath the people who were ahead of him on his elbows. His breathing began to labor after a few moments, his claustrophobia was obstructing his pursuit.

He had no choice but to pop up where he was and, wouldn't you know it, he was only one spot away from the desired point. The guy ahead of him made his approach to the swan-shaped boat, Tabitha was already in it, waiting to get this over with. Rick dashed over, dodged the guy and leapt onto the swan into the seat next to her.

She smiled inwardly, trying not to laugh at this display. She looked him over as he tried regaining his poise.

"Hmm…" she mused aloud, almost inaudibly. He flipped his hair out of his face and she got a glimpse of those deep, deep, brown eyes of his. "Wow…"

Rick looked over at her, unknowingly. "Huh?"

"Nothing." she answered, almost immediately. There was a terse pause before their swan started moving into the tunnel. "So…why so anxious to hop aboard, sailor?"

He smiled nervously. "Well, I was, um, watching you and you-"

"You were watching me?" she asked with a raised brow.

"No, I--I just, I was, uh…I was looking towards there…" he said and pointed to the location where he first saw her. "…and you walked through there…and I…um…"

She laughed hard for a few moments; he put his head down and let out a heartbreaking sigh. "Let me guess, you were drawn to my stunning beauty and my graceful manner?" Tabby said using her sophisticated voice that was usually meant to mock Jean's.

He blushed a bit. "Um…" he started but couldn't find the words to say.

"I was just kidding, geesh…are you always this stammery around hot babes?" she teased.

"No." he replied, immediately. "I mean…naw."

"So what's your name?"

He smiled and held out his hand. "I'm Rick Carter, nice to meet you…"

She shook his hand and beamed. "Tabitha Smith and likewise...pleasure to share a swan with you."

They entered a pitch black part of the tunnel where it became impossible to see before floating into a lightly pink and red tinted section of the tunnel. The room had cute little heart lights all over the walls and cherubs with their tiny bows and arrows on the ceiling.

Rick smiled a bit. "Sure it's cheesy…but it's still kinda cute." he commented, basking in the cuteness of it all. Tabby gave him an odd look. He quickly cleared his throat. "In a masculine way, of course." he said in a deeper voice.

Tabitha smiled and raised a brow. "Aww, do you need a hug?"

* * *

Rogue sighed in disappointment and set her black and studded purse down on the game booth. "Well, that was a waste of mah time…" she grumbled and stalked away.

Rogue was having a pretty good time, she didn't have to worry about her untouchable-ness much since she was wearing a jacket. She just lost about ten dollars on a ring toss game, but things were still looking up.

"Excuse me, chere, I t'ink ya forgot somet'in'." Remy said from behind her; she smiled, turning around and seeing him holding her purse out to her.

"Mah, mah, Remy…you just made mah day." she said and gave him a big hug, carefully as not to touch skin. She then took her bag from him.

"Dat's not all Remy brought fo' ya?" he said, grinning sexily, and pulled out the heart-shaped pillow he had earlier gotten for her.

She gave him a sunshine smile. "Ah'd kiss ya right now if it wouldn't…you know, kill ya." she said, a little deflated but still happily.

"Go 'head, do it anyways..." he said with a smirk.

She smirked back. "Well...maybe just a little peck…" she said and wrapped her sleeved arms around his neck and gave him a kiss. After a few seconds pieces of Remy's hair stuck up and Rogue pulled away. "You okay?"

He coughed and grinned at her. "It hurt…but it felt really good." He patted his hair down.

"Hey, when Ah absorbed ya…I got some of yo' thoughts stuck in mah head…" she chuckled. "I knew what you were thinking." she taunted with a smirk as they started to walk off together.

"Uh-oh."

"Take a cold shower, Gumbo."

* * *

"Oh come on, Logan."

"No way, Ororo, I ain't doin' it."

"Logan."

"I'm. Not. Doing. It."

"Yes you are." Ororo pushed him onto the scale of the 'Guess Your Weight and Win' game.

"How much do you think you way, sir?" The woman asked awaiting his response.

Logan grumbled.

"He said he's 280 lbs." Ororo answered with a smile.

"280?" Logan snapped, quietly. "Hey, I'm not that-"

The woman weighed him and read the results. "320 is your weight…sorry you lose." she said. "Next!"

"What?!" Logan raised a brow and Ororo dragged him away. "O, you know I don't weigh that much, right?" he asked.

She laughed. "Yeah, Logan…I know." She patted him on the back as they walk through the carnival. "Let it go…it was just a game."

"Fine…" he said and mumbled to himself.

* * *

Roberto and Amara were having a swell time going around and checking out the rides. Roberto had been a gentleman most of the night and even bought her cotton candy. And she loved cotton candy.

"Wow, Robby, this has been great…thanks so much for coming." she said with a smile.

He had an amused smile on his face. "If my girls here than so am I." he said and went to give her a kiss but she backed away a bit. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just not ready yet…" she said, undecidedly.

He clicked his tongue. "Why not? We've been together for a month and we haven't even kissed once?"

"I know, it's just that-"

"Oh…I understand now, you've never been kissed before, true?"

Amara grew nervous. Her fist kiss was with Marc and that was it; she had never kissed another but she couldn't tell about the kiss. "Um…yeah, how'd you know?"

"I can just tell these kind of things…it's like a seventh sense I guess." he replied, proudly.

"Don't you mean _sixth _sense?"

"Huh?" he said, not really paying attention.

"Sixth sense."

"Oh, I didn't like that movie."

* * *

"Lurking in the shadows, is a force unlike any that have ever been seen…" Jubilation narrated from the space between two booths in the shadows.

Bobby joined in. "You'll never expect him; his presence will shake you…"

"He is the defender of animals…"

"…the defender of fluffiness…" he continued on.

She smirked. "…he is…"

"Stephan."

"Roberto."

"L.A."

Jubes suddenly jumped out in front of an unknowing couple holding the stuffed tiger at the people. The man almost screamed and had to have jumped about six feet in the air. Bobby and Jubes scoffed and scampered off.

Once out of sight, they leaned up against a chain-linked fence. "That was perfect…" Bobby said, grinning.

"No," she said with a big grin, "this is perfect." She planted a kiss on his lips.

After she broke the kiss, Bobby wobbled around in a cartoonish fashion. "Whoa…"

* * *

"Thanks, sir." Sam said and the man nodded in reply. The southern boy walked away from a food cart with two ice cream cones and sat down on a wooden table then handed one to Rahne. "Is this what ya wanted?"

"Aye, thanks." she said and began lapping up the frozen frosty sweetness.

"No problem." He smiled, brightly.

Sam smiled and tasted his cone, getting some of the ice cream on his nose. Rahne noticing it, pointed at her nose. Sam crossed his eyes, trying to look at his nose. This made her giggle and she handed him a napkin.

"Thanks, I…" he started but noticed Jean and Scott running over hand-in-hand towards them. "Hey guys."

"Hi," smiled Jean. "Do you two want to go on the Ferris Wheel with us?"

Rahne shook her head abruptly. She hated heights; they were too high up for her. She liked the ground fine. "No, I appreciate ya askin' though."

Sam nodded, Scott and Jean jogged off. Jamie ran over to Rahne and poked her.

"Hey Rahne, you seen Scott or Jean….they ditched me in the house of mirrors?" he inquired, looking around anxiously. "By the time I got out they were gone without a trace."

Sam took a good look at Jamie and found him to be vibrating. Literally. "How many cotton candies have you had?" the farm boy asked.

Jamie scrunched his face in thought. "Um, let's see eleven plus five…" he said, counting on his fingers. "Plus ten…quick Sam, Rahne, let me use your fingers."

Sam sighed and shook his head.

* * *

Rick held his hand out to help Tabby out of the swan. She nodded and grabbed his hand but as she stepped out of the boat she slipped on the side and fell into his arms. Even she blushed at this until she looked into his eyes.

"Move it along!" The ride operator shouted; Tabitha and Rick pulled away and laughed nervously as they started walking.

Tabby smiled. "Well that ride was…"

"Fun? Yeah…except for the corny music." Rick said with a chuckle.

"It was kinda like this weird, freaky, Valentine's Day music."

"I liked it…maybe I'll play it later." he said, in jest.

She giggled. "You play? What, you got a band or something?"

"Yeah. We're going to be playing at the convention tent on the far side of the giant inflatable clown, near the freak show-- and I never expected those words to come from my mouth." he said with a raised brow. "Anyways, will you come?"

"I may, consider, possibly, deciding to, think about dropping by…" Tabby said with a smirk as she began walking off.

"Wow. How…vague of you." he said, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he headed to get ready for the gig.

* * *

PLEASE REVIEW!


	37. The Carnival 2of2

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men...I don't own Desdemona she belongs to psychobunny410 and Rick belongs to animeluvr1. I own Marc and the great ideas in this story...humor me, people!

A.p.R. - Much thanks goes out to all my reviewers, psychobunny410 and animeluvr1. Also, on another not, if psychobunny410 and animeluvr1 persist on driving me crazy by bugging me to review I will...do something.

----------------------------------------------------I get no respect-----------------------------------------------------

"Okay, never _ever _get a caramel apple stuck in your hair." Marc said, picking a few shards of the dried caramel from his hair.

"Aww, but by the way you're grimacing it _really _looks fun?" said Kitty, giggling to herself.

"You know the way your tongue hurts after you accidentally staple it to the wall?"

"Oddly enough…"

"It's worse."

"Ouch."

"And it's on _your _conscience, Kate."

"I'll manage…"

Marc smiled at Kitty, wrapping an arm around her bringing her in closer to him. "That's cold, Kit-Kat."

"Well," She turned to face him. "Maybe I could warm things up." she said with a smirk leaned foreword for a kiss just as a little kid, with a plethora of colorful balloons, ran between them.

Kitty fell back. Luckily, Marc's preternatural reflexes allowed him to get behind her just in time to catch her. "Wow. Thanks…that would have hurt."

"It was nothing…I just wanted a kiss." he said, showing his cute smile.

She gave him a smooch. "Then go to the kissing booth."

"Hey, guys!" Tabitha called, running up to them. "After you two finish gettin' all groiny with each other; head over to the convention tent on the far side of the giant inflatable clown, near the freak show-- wow, that does sound weird."

Marc and Kitty pulled away from each other, blushing. "We were not getting 'groiny.' There were _no _groins involved..." Marc replied.

Kitty just ignored Marc and raised a brow. "Why do you want us to head over there?"

Marc was just absentmindedly continuing. "…I mean, maybe someday…we'd think about doing…that but now…it's too soon…"

"There's this awesome band over playing tonight." Tabs explained.

"…we are really close and I'm sure it'll happen eventually…" Marc continued, not caring if anybody was listening, as the two girls conversed.

"Sounds good to me, Tabby. We'll head over there…when is it?"

"Show starts in at nine…thirty minutes...be there or…just be there." she said, walking away.

Kitty smacked Marc on the arm. "Stop rambling."

"Sorry."

* * *

The band was just sitting around on stage after the sound check. Rick rested his chin on the top of his guitar, zoning.

Parker walked up to him, tambourine in hand, and hit him upside the head. "Wake up!" she said.

"Huh? What…is it show time?" he asked, indolently.

Doug chuckle, looking up from his drums at his love struck pal. "Hey, leave him alone. He's just daydreaming about this girl he met."

"Rick met a girl?" John said, overdramatically. "We all have to approve of her first, young man."

Rick scoffed and threw a nickel at him. "You guys always embarrass me." he said, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Doug chuckled a bit rustled. "You'll understand when you have a little singer/guitarist of your own someday."

* * *

"So, these guys are good then?" Amanda questioned.

Tabitha nodded. "Totally, it's gonna be one hell of a show!"

"Vhat band?" Mr. Fuzzy a.k.a. Kurt asked.

Tabby scratched the back of her head nervously. "Gee…it's…um…"

Kurt raised a dark blue brow. "You don't know, do you?"

"Nope."

Rolling her eyes, Amanda sighed. "Then how do you know their good…?" she asked.

"Well…uhhh. Oo, I know: the lead singers hot." Tabs explained, content with her answer.

Kurt looked at her curiously. "Vhat doez zat have to do vith any-"

"No-no…she's got a point." Amanda replied immediately.

Kurt's eyes widened. "AMANDA!"

* * *

"Pick a card any card!" A man shouted. "Play it! Win if you can."

Remy smiled. "Dat sound like a challenge to me…"

Rogue shook her head. "He's obviously a scam artist…what's the point?"

Remy just smiled at her and winked as they walked over to the man.

"Ah, come to show off for the little lady…well be a man and step right up and prove it." The gruff looking man said. The table he was sitting at, under a small tent, had a deck of cards resting, perfectly stacked up.

Remy tossed ten dollars on the table. "Okay, homme. Remy'll try." he said, sitting down in an old wooden chair next to Rogue.

The man smirked, another sucker steps up to the plate. He held out the cards to the Cajun, so neither of them could see. "Pick a card; any card…don't show me either."

Remy was hasty and grabbed one before he even finished talking. "What next?"

"I'm going to tell you your card."

"Now how ya going at do dat?" Remy asked, poorly acting.

"It's magic."

"Remy don't believe in magic."

"Okay, just let me tell you your card."

"But Remy already knows his card?" interrupted Remy.

"I know…just shut up." The scammer replied.

Remy smirked, inwardly. "Proceed den."

"Your card is a-" he started, Remy coughed, coving his mouth with his card hand.

"Excuse me…go on."

"Your card is…a 2 of spades-"

"Nope-"

"Wha?!"

Remy twirled the card around in his fingers, revealing a queen of hearts. "Oh, sorry, monsieur." he said with a kind look. "Looks like ya lost."

"But how - all the cards - it makes no sense." he ranted, looked at the deck. Every card was a two of spades. "Get outta here!"

Remy smiled as he grabbed the twenty bucks and stood up stood up along with Rogue and exited the tent. She was as surprised as the swindler was. "Remy, how did ya do that?"

"A good t'ief is always prepared." he said, flicking his wrist causing a card to slide out of his sleeve.

"So when ya coughed ya really - Remy, ya just scammed the scam artist! That goes against the laws of nature or something." she drawled, smiling.

"Shh. It'll be our lil' secret, chere." He winked.

* * *

Kitty laughed, smiling as she entered the convention tent with Marc. "You think their going to be good?"

"I wouldn't know." he said, wrapping an arm around her waist as they walked over to Kurt and Amanda and sat next to them. "Tabby got to you too, huh?"

"Ja."

Roberto and Amara came and sat down next to Marc and Kitty. "S'up?" Roberto said.

Amanda stated. "Nothing, just waiting."

"Cool…cool." Amara stated.

After a few moments, Kitty sighed. "That was a meaningless conversation."

Ms. Aquilla nodded. "Yeah, it really was."

"I wonder why we even said anything there." Marc wondered.

"Probably to fill the silence until the show starts." Amanda offered.

"Ah."

Over on stage, Rick stood up to the mic, letting his guitar hang around his neck by the strap. "Hey, uh, we're The Unladen Swallows and it looks like we're your entertainment for tonight. Please bear with us." he said, drawing a few laughs from the crowd.

"Thanks for humoring us tonight!" Doug said with a smile.

"Now before we, start we'd like to ask you guys to be sure to support AIDS research. Please leave your donations in the donation jar by the entrance." Rick added.

"Let's get started - my guitar finger's getting twitchy." Brian said, wiggling his fingers about, still managing to hold onto the pick.

Rick nodded, scanning the crowd for Tabitha; she wasn't there. "Our first song is Monster-…" he trailed off as he noticed Tabby entering the tent. He smiled then turned to the band. Putting his hand over the mic so the audience would not hear. "Guys, quick song change…let's switch song 3 with 1. Just trust me."

John let out a loud gasp. "Swapping songs 3 and 4, I understand. But switching songs 3 and 1...now I'm afraid you lost me."

Parker threw her hands up in the air. "I can't work like this…"

"Yeah, you threw off my groove."

Brian nodded. "Now look what you did…you threw off Doug's groove."

Rick chuckled. "Less talk more rock." he said and turned to the crowd, removing his hand from the mic. "Okay, aside from throwing off our drummer's groove, we'll now be performing our cover of Somebody's Baby."

Brian strummed his guitar simultaneously with Parkers tambourine; Doug began tapping his drumsticks on the symbol. Rick leaned forward into the mic while still playing his guitar. He locked eyes with Tabby in the front row, sitting with her friends he presumed.

Rick smirked at her; she winked back.

"Well, just look at that girl with the lights comin' up in her eyes

She's got to be somebody's baby

She must be somebody's baby

Cause all the guys on the corner stand back and let her walk on by  
  
She said she's got to be somebody's baby 

She must be somebody's baby

She's got to be somebody's baby

She's so fine…" Rick ended with a big stroke of the strings.

The others started to sing along with him. _"She's probably somebody's only light_

Gonna shine tonight

Oh yeah, she's probably somebody's baby, all right…"  
  
Rick smiled and again began singing solo. _"I heard her talkin' with her friend when she thought nobody else was around_

She said she's got to be somebody's baby

She must be somebody's baby

'Cause when the cars and the signs and the street lights light up the town  
  
She's got to be somebody's baby

She must be somebody's baby

She's got to be somebody's baby

She's so fine…"

Tabby smiled and blushed, yes BLUSHED, a little. She received the message of this song.

_"She's gonna be somebody's only light _

Gonna shine tonight

Oh yeah, she's gonna be somebody's baby tonight."  
  
Rick got an intense look in his eyes as the other hummed to the beat of the music, letting him take over. _"I try to shut my eyes, but I can't get her out of my sight"_

I know I'm gonna know her, but I can't get over my fright

Well, I'm just gonna walk up to her

I'm gonna talk to her tonight!"

Everybody in the band began singing.

"Oh, yeah!  
  
Yeah, she's gonna be somebody's only light

Gonna shine tonight

Yeah, she's gonna be somebody's baby tonight…"

As the song ended the crowd of people under the tent where cheering. Tabitha was really flattered by all of this. No person has ever looked at her the way Rick has before. Not even Ray.

Amanda, Amara, and Kitty were looking at Rick with twinkles in their eyes. Their guys noticed this. Kurt swatted Amanda's leg with his tail, Roberto nudged Amara with his shoulder, and Marc poked Kitty in the ribs.

Amanda tapped Tabitha on the shoulder. "If I didn't love this lovable fuzz ball I'd be trying to get at him."

"Hell, you'd have to go through me first…if I wasn't with what's his name…" she said, quietly.

"Little problem. We just gotta replace a guitar string and we'll be right back on." Rick said, setting his guitar down as he hopped off the stage. The others chatted while Brian went to get his back up guitar from the van.

"Hey, Tabby…what did you think?" Rick said with a hopeful smile, walking up to her.

"I need to think about that one…" She tapped her finger on her lip then stroked her chin, deep in thought. "You guys kick ass."

Ricky slid his hands into his pockets. "Great. I'm glad you came."

"Me too, it was worth it. I usually don't follow guys…they follow me." she said with a joking smirk.

They had a quick laugh and Rick threw his head back to get the hair out of his face. "Hey, I was wondering, we finish at ten, would you like to…you know… hang out?"

She internally winced. "Um, well…I'm kind of seeing…" she started, unsure of what to say.

"Seeing someone else?"

"…no! I was planning to see a movie later. You can come if you'd like?"

"Sure! Yeah, cool." he said, trying not to show his excitement through a happy dance.

The sound of several things crashing to the ground and the man watching the AIDS jar falling to the ground silenced threw the tent into confusion. "Hey, she's stealing the money." The man said from the floor pointing at the culprit as she swiftly exited the tent.

Marc stood up. "I'll get it." he said, hopping over the row of chairs and heading out of the tent.

Rick raised his pierced brow. "My hero." he said, deadpan.

"That's Marc: he's got good intentions." sighed Tabby.

"But there's only like ten dollars in that thing?"

"Hey, I said he had good intentions…I didn't say that they were smart."

* * *

The woman was wearing a black trench coat with the hood up, mostly covering her face. "Stop trying to be the hero!" she shouted back at him, running.

"I'm not doing this for my own health! You know?" snapped Marc, chasing after her and dodging kids and other obstacles.

"Oh come on…this is just getting annoying." Frustrated, she said. She then swatted over a few boxes to block his path as she took a short cut around the large metal concession booth.

Marc sighed, hating this. He jumped onto one of the boxes she toppled over, jumped to the top of the concession booth. He then jumped off, gaining serious ground on her.

She looked back at him with an intrigued as she continued running from him. "Never seen anyone do that before…though no one's ever been so damn persistent and chase- whoa!" She tripped, dropping the plastic jar and on a crash course for the ground. She closed her eyes and waited for impact. No pain came.

She opened her eyes and realized what happened; she then proceeded to roll them. "You…have got to be kidding me." she said, struggling against Marc. He had caught her.

"A thank you would be nice…but if you'd rather me turn you over to the police. That's another option." he said with an undecided look on his face.

Her hood had flipped back, revealing her face. She had sea green eyes; they were what first caught Marc's attention. Her hair raven black hair was touching the grass on the ground.

She pushed away from him and fell out of his arms to the ground. "Ouch." she said, quickly getting to her feet. She bent down and picked up the jar. "See, if you would have just let me fall-"

"You would have had a nasty bruise?" Marc offered with a smug grin. He approached her, nonchalantly. "Just hand over the money." he said, as if she were defeated.

"Yeah, right, hero…that's really going to happen."

"My name in _Marc_." he said, annoyed by her constantly calling him hero.

"My names Desdemona and I'll be your thief today." she scoffed.

Marc took a few steps forward. "Come on…if you hand it over I'll let you go. I'll tell them you got away."

"No, no…I need this, okay!" she said, slowly backing away from him. "Look, a distraction!" she shouted, pointing behind Marc.

"Huh?" He quickly looked back; she kicked him in the face. He held his jaw and glared at her, realizing he'd been duped.

"You are really horrible at this hero routine, aren't?" she said with a smirk, immensely proud of her actions. She took a few steps back into the street before he regained his composure.

Marc's eyes widened. "Look out!" he cried.

She chuckled and held her hands out to the side as she backed away slowly. "On a scale of one to ten: how stupid do you think I am?"

Marc grabbed her by the arms and pulled her out of the street just before a bus hit her. They both hit the ground hard; she was on top of him as their eyes met.

"Really want to know?" he asked, feeling a pain in his back from landing awkwardly.

"Not anymore, no." she said, getting off him and picking up the jar.

Marc swiftly got to his feet, but held his back. "You okay?"

She nodded. "I'm good."

He sighed in relief. "Good. Now hand over the jar before I save you from injury again."

"Matt, or whatever your name is, I really need this. So either you back off or I'm going to have to hurt you." she said.

"Desdemona, man that's a mouthful…here." he said, taking out his wallet and pulling out twenty dollars. "Take that but give me the jar back."

Des raised an eyebrow at this. "What the hell are you doing?" she wondered. "This thing only has, like, ten bucks in it…you're offering me twenty. You must have hit your head hard."

"What do you say? Are you going to hand it over?"

"You're crazy, I'm the one who stole ten dollar and now you wanna give me more. I don't see much of a difference here, bud." she stated, arrogantly. She set the jar by his foot and took the money from his hand. "Your loss, pal."

He grabbed her hand before she could pull it away. "It's a lot different. I'm giving you a gift…you were stealing someone else's. There is thin line we all walk. Take it. Go…use it well."

"I never would've expected this…"

"…people can surprise you." he said with as smile.

She nodded at him, showing a hint of a smile. "See you around." she said, stepping into the street as a diesel passed in front of her. When it had passed, she was gone.

Marc sighed, picked up the jar, and started back to the tent. It was less tiring there.

* * *

"…so thanks for coming out tonight…and remember to come back tomorrow night and hear the riveting music of 'C.J. and the Bushwhackers'..." Rick announced as the note card in his hand stated. "I feel like a tool…goodnight folks!" he added as the people were leaving.

Marc slowly came back into the tent and set the jar down where it belonged. The man smiled at him and patted him on the back. "You did a good thing tonight, son."

What Marc said: "It was nothing really."

What Marc thought: "Yeah, just twenty bucks!"

Kitty walked over to him and kissed his chin. "Wow. Us X-Men must be really rubbing off on you." she joked. "Though, I think that you may need some more _training _with me." she said, kissing her on his lips.

"If you are implying that we make out I will not argue..." he said with a smile and kissed her back and winced. "But maybe another time." he said, holding his bruised jaw. It was healing…but it still really, really, hurt.

"Hey, Scott…we're gonna go see a movie…I'll be back at the mansion soon." Tabby said and before Scott could say a word, she dragged Rick out of the tent.

Scott sighed; you just cannot stop that girl.

"It's getting late." Ororo stated as she entered with Logan behind her. None of the mutants responded to her or even acknowledged her.

Logan grunted as he entered. "Okay, runts, in the X-Van before I start doubling DR times."

Jubes eyes opened widen and she whistled. "Alright, you heard the Canucklehead, back to the mansion!"

They all exited the tent except Logan, who was shaking his head. "I knew I never shoulda told that girl I was Canadian."

With that, he went out to the X-Van and they all headed home after this long and interesting day.

* * *

Please Review my peeps. And psychobunny410 and animeluvr1, tell me what you think of this.


	38. That Old Gang of Mine 1of6

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men...Marvel does. I own Marc Maseon, the idea, the plot, and the jokes...so in your face lawyers!

A.p.R. - Hola, hommies! I'm here to say that if you missed the last chapter of this story, I highly recomend you read it. You might need to know some of the things revealed in that. Anywho, this chapter and the next few have been Co-Authored with psychobunny410. Enjoy!

-------------------------------------------------------Stop dancing like a pig!--------------------------------------------------------

Today was Marc and Kitty's three month anniversary and Marc wanted to make it special. He had been working a series of odd jobs so that he could get her something nice. He but the only problem is that he didn't have a clue what to get her. That's why he called in an expert.

Marc walked over to Sam. "You know the plan, right? If Kitty asks about where I am, tell her that I am in a training session. Then call me on my cell so that I can hurry up and get back."

Sam nodded and walked away; soon after Amanda walked through the doors to the institute. "What's up Marc, you sounded urgent on the phone?"

Marc walked up to her and put his hands in his pockets. "Well it kind of is and I know it's last minute but I really need to ask you something. I have this problem and I need you."

She raised a brow and looked confused. "Well, Marc…I'm sorry, I really don't like you like that. It's better if we just stay friends. Don't worry I won't tell Kurt about you coming on to me like this but-"

"No!" Marc said, loudly. "I need your help with picking out a nice gift for Kitty."

"Oh…okay sure. Can we just ignore what I just said then?"

"Oh yeah." He said as they both went out to her car.

* * *

"Bobby, you in here?" asked Scott, knocking on Bobby's door.

Bobby grunted as he sat up in bed. "Yeah...why?"

Scott entered the room and shook his head. "Why?! Because it's almost noon and you're still sleeping."

Bobby chuckled. "Oh…so I am. Sorry, I must have needed the sleep."

"Bobby, you missed another training session today. We've been through this before and this is your last warning: if you miss today's six o'clock pm session your off the team."

"Don't worry, I'll be there."

"Make sure you're there; not late and no excuses. You're a big asset to the X-Men but you need to learn some responsibility."

Bobby nodded as Scott left. There was no way he was going to miss this one.

* * *

"So what are you looking to get her?" Amanda asked, glancing at him as she made a turn.

Marc shrugged just before scratching the back of his neck. "That's why I brought you." He said with a small grin. "Well, I mean, something…nice. She deserves it for putting up with me."

Amanda giggled through a smile. "Well how about some jewelry, a nice bracelet, a necklace, a ring?" She offered, enthusiastically. Marc showed her how much money he had. "Or maybe…we should go get a box of crackerjacks and hope there's a good prize inside?" she corrected, now somewhat deflated.

"Oh, come on, it's not that bad." He said, gesturing his hands as he spoke. "I may not be able to get her something from Tiffany's but I still think I can get her something nice."

"You're right, you should have enough for…" She paused and, out of the corner of her eye, looked at his money again. "…something…"

* * *

Once Amanda thought of a place that sells jewelry they headed straight over. She led Marc into the store, Caritas, and they began to browse.

"Hello sir, what will this get me?" asked Marc to an employee, holding out his cash.

The man smugly smirked. "A large cup of water and a meal off of the dollar menu at McDonald's." He said in a British accent.

"Oh," Marc threw his hands up in the air. "Everyone's a comedian today…whatever happened to that whole 'treat your customers kindly' policy I thought you guys are supposed to have?"

"The same thing that happened to the 'customers always right' policy…we just ignored it until it went away."

"Is there anything I can buy here or not?"

"No sorry, we don't have a clearance rack at Caritas."

Marc was about to snap back at the man but heard his name being called from off in the back. She gestured to him to come over and he did so.

"Marc," called Amanda, pressing her index finger down on the glass case. "What about that? It's really nice and it's in your price range."

He came over and looked through the case at the beautiful amethyst stone on the locket of the silver necklace. "Wow…it's awesome. She'll love it."

A female employee came over to them and brought the necklace out from the display case and checked them out. Once she handed Marc back his change he began to count it as they walked back out to Amanda's car. Marc turned to the British employee and smirked. "Aha! I still have enough for a large cup of coke and two meals off the dollar menu. In your face."

The man stuck his tongue out at him as they left the store and Marc laughed in victory.

"She'll really like this," Amanda said, entering the driver's side.

"Yeah, and I can't thank you enough." he replied with a smile. "Without you, I would have been very lost and confused…and I probably would have punched that British dude." he said, almost as an after thought.

She laughed and he entered the car. She was just about ready to start the car when he grabbed her by her wrist to stop her. "What is it?"

He blocked her out, as he gazed into the distance. His face looked very serious and focusing. "Sorry…must have been nothing." He replied, letting her go. Marc could have sworn that he had heard something familiar. Something that he had been hearing every once and a while over the last week.

She started the engine and they headed back to the institute. "Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Marc gave her a reassuring smile. "Yeah…I'm fine."

* * *

Amanda dropped him off at the mansion and Marc got inside quickly and looked around for Sam but instead found Bobby. "Hey man, could you do me a favor?"

Bobby shrugged. "Sure…so long as it doesn't require me to do anything."

"Okay then," he said, slowly. "Could you go find Kitty and bring her to the rec-room please?"

"Yeah, sure man, I'll go get her." he said, then headed off to find her.

Marc was a little nervous as he walked to the rec-room to wait for her. "C'mon Marc, get a grip…it's not like you're asking her to marry you." He thought to himself.

He looked up as he came upon the room with a bit of surprise. Jubes was standing gazing out of the large window off in the corner. He started walking up to her casually. "Umm...hey Jubes do you mind leaving, I have som-"

Before he could muster out word, Jubes looked at him with a glint in her eye. "My fire." She whispered, softly and pulled him by the collar into a deep and passionate kiss. A second after she did this Kitty and Bobby walked into the room.

This was not something Kitty nor Bobby wanted to see happen. Almost instantly, jealousy and anger filled them both.

Kitty narrowed her beautiful big brown eyes. "WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!" She yelled at the top of her lungs.

Bobby was in shock, complete and total shock at what Jubes had just done.  
Marc pushed her off of him and onto the couch he just looked at her, confused. Jubes licked her lips and smirked. "You taste just as good as I remember." She said slyly and almost in a whisper. "Wh-what's going on?" Suddenly the mood and tone changed into confusion.

"You bastard!" Bobby roared and lunged at Marc, tackled him and began pounding away. Marc was trying to cover up, not really want to retaliate and hurt his friend.

"Jubilee, why?" She said, sadly, and walked over to her. "I thought you were my friend." Kitty hissed, walking over to Jubes and slapped her.

"What's going on why, are you hitting me?" Jubes cried as she was being attacked. 

Marc was being pounded by Bobby, his lip was now bloody but he still didn't want to fight back. Marc pushed Bobby off and they both got to their feet. Bobby tried to take other swing but it was caught by Marc then he held Bobby's arms behind his back so he couldn't attack again. "Chill man…chill."

Kitty had been yelling at Jubes and stopped in mid-sentence. Obviously confused about what was going on. She backed away from Jubes. "Marc…what is happening her, it's our anniversary? No, wait never mind, maybe I don't even want to know." Kitty said, almost in tears as she headed out of the rec-room. 

"No Kit...wai-" Marc dropped his guard and Bobby elbowed him in the jaw. And tackled him to the ground once again.

Sam, Roberto, and Kurt ran into the room. "What's goin' on in here, I thought I heard-" Sam started to say but assessed the situation and pulled Bobby off of Marc and Roberto and Kurt held Marc who was now willing go after Bobby.

Sam noticed who he had. "Bobby?"

"Marc?" asked Roberto, shocked to see these two.

"Did you two know zat you vere fighting each other?" Kurt asked with a raised brow.

Bobby got free from Sam and went to punch Marc again.

"No Bobby!" Jubes cried.

Bobby stopped in mid-punch. "Why Jubes, do you love him or something?"

"Love him? He's just a friend?"

"Well I've never see friends kiss like THAT."

"Kiss?! I didn't kiss him."

"Don't lie to me, I saw you two with my own eyes!"

"I'm not, I swear Bobby, you're the only one for me." Jubes pleaded.

Marc stepped away from Roberto and Kurt and cautiously made his way over to Jubes. "Jubes 'My fire' when you came up to me you said that, why?"

"I don't even know how I got here. Last thing I remember I was talking to Rahne in the kitchen, I felt a chill, and then Kitty was yelling at me and slapped me up in here." She explained, holding her head.

"You know what? It seems very unlikely that that happened." Bobby said, still making no sense of this situation.

"It was kinda fun though." Jubes said with a smirk just as she did before. "I think I'm gonna do that again." she said, walking back towards Marc. 

Then it hit Marc. He paled at least seven shades lighter at this realization; his heart started to beat faster and his eyes flickered orange from his rage. He grabbed her by the shoulders and slammed her against the wall. "Let her go! Get out of her!" Marc yelled at her as he continued to slam Jubes body against the wall.

"Ow, what are you doing?" Jubes said, in a scared and frightened tone.

Marc let her go and she ran over to Bobby seeking protection from Marc in his arms.  
  
"Dude what's going on?" Bobby asked, holding Jubes protectively.

Marc stumbled back a bit and stared at his friends with remorse in his eyes. "Jubes...I-I'm so sorry." He looked at Jubes who was trembling in fear. "I gotta go." he said and quickly ran out of the room.

Marc was on his way to the kitchen to see if Kitty was there when Amanda passed him. "It didn't go well did it?" she asked.

"You have no idea." Marc replied, making his way into the kitchen. He saw Logan there reading the afternoon paper; Marc looked at the front page cover story. It read, '7 victims in hospital for blood loss in two weeks'...this was getting too weird.

When Logan took his eyes from the paper and saw him, Marc could tell he snapped. Kitty must have told him.

Logan let out a grumbled sighed. "Marc, I didn't think ya'd be one to stoop as low as to cheat on her on your anniversary thing. I guess I thought wrong about you." he said in an eerily calm voice as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Stay away from the half-pint for a while. And remember, if you hurt her from now on you'll have to deal with me." he growled. 

Marc bit his lip. "Logan listen to me, Jubes did really kiss me and I didn't cheat on Kitty...with Jubes…it's hard to explain but I-" Marc stopped in shock as he looked through the window over Logan's shoulder. Kitty was out side...kissing some guy. "Kitty?" He said in awe.

Logan turned around and saw the same thing. They both rushed out there only to see that the guy had gone and Kitty was still there. "Half-pint? Who was that?" asked Logan, growling.

Kitty shrugged. "I never saw him before but I just couldn't help myself." She replied, scowling at Marc the entire time.

Logan hung his head in shame. "I have never been more ashamed of you two than I am at this moment." he said. 

"Kitty, you said that you couldn't help yourself right?" asked Marc, she nodded still scowling at her boyfriend. A look of shock came across his face; he had just put it all together. "How'd they find me?"

* * *

Mwahahahaha! PLEASE REVIEW and tell me what you think about this chapter! 


	39. That Old Gang of Mine 2of6

Disclaimer: Consult your doctor prior to reading CoA; do not read CoA if you have consumed 3 or more alcoholic beverages. Do not read if you plan to sue me. The most common side effects of CoA is stomach bleeding and enjoyment.

A.p.R. - Hey, it's me, it's me! I'm glad you like the last chapter, my peeps. It's nice to have chinxy back and reviewing and alsolike to say a big thanks to my new reviewers. Now, for the bad news, I wont be able to update next week because I am in a play that is showing most of next week. Sorry.

Co-authored by - psychobunny410

---------------------------------------------You look like a monkey trying to screw a football out there!------------------------------------

A look of shock came across Marc's face. He had just put it all together. "How'd they find me?"

Logan raised an eyebrow. "Who are ya talking 'bout, kid?"

"I…no one. Nothing, never mind." Marc replied, pressing a thumb to his right temple. "I need to go clear my head…I'll be back soon." he said walking off to the garage.

Kitty tilted her head to the left slightly. "Where are you going?"

"For a ride." he replied, deadpanned.

Logan knew he should stop him; Marc didn't have a license. However, he also knew Marc was responsible and sometimes he needed to clear his head. He could relate.

Marc looked around the garage for something he could drive. He settled on an older pickup truck that already had the keys in it and left the mansion. Even though he didn't have a license he still knew how to drive. "How did they find me…it's been so long?" he said. "What do they want with me now?" he asked himself. Although he knew the answer. They wanted revenge.

::Flashback::

A young man was digging in a dumpster behind a restaurant, presumably searching for some scraps to eat. The concrete behind him was dank, his clothes, slightly ripped and scraggly. He reached his arm in up to his elbow, trying to sort between the trash and something he could eat.

He heard a sound behind him and quickly turned around nervously. "Hello…who's there?" he said awaited for a response. When none came, he once again went back to looking for food.

A few moments later, he heard a low echoing chuckle. "Okay, who the Hell is there? I'm warning you, do not mess with me."

No one responded.

He turned back around to continue searching for scrap but fell backwards in fright as an eery silhouette appeared.

"You think you're hungry," The man said, stepping out the shadows. "I'm starving." he smirked, revealing his fangs. He was wearing all black and had his hair tied into a ponytail.

"You're a…you're…" he said, quickly getting to his feet and pointed his palms at the pale, fanged man. "I know how to use these…well, kinda…"

"You sounded so threatening with that side note." His black ponytail swayed as he laughed. "Gimme your best shot."

"You asked for it," he flexed his arms tighter a harder, his mind's soul concentration set on this. "Flame on……hold on, um…fire shoot at him…" Nothing happened.

The fanged man doubled over in laugher. "Flame on…hahaha, oh God you're hilarious…" he cackled, however, slowly regaining himself. "Well, all this laughter has given me an appetite." He lunged at him.

Just as he was about to get him a hand grabbed him before the feeding. "Legna, not eating prospects." A deep voice said then threw him to the side, effortlessly. "Sorry about that, Marc…he tends to get…hungry." Benny said.

Legna got up off the ground and held his rear, on which he landed. "What can I say? I'm a binge eater."

Marc was befuddled about the events that were taking place. All he wanted was some food, he hadn't eaten in a week and now this.

A beautiful young woman came out from behind some boxes and elbowed Legna in the stomach. "Ow…Marcia, what was that for?!" growled Legna.

"You ate my sandwich earlier." snapped Marcia, glaring at Legna with her intense green eyes.

"How many times do I have to tell you, I DON'T EAT FOOD?" Legna protested. "It was probably Adelaide…"

A sharply dressed man walked over to Legna and Marcia. "Oh no, don't blame that on me."

"I ate the damn sandwich, okay?" Benny growled.

Marc raised a brow. "Um…who are you guys?"

"We're the toughest mutants in this state." Marcia explained.

Adelaide smirked and crossed his arms over his chest. "We're feared."

Legna growled. "I'm still hungry."

Benny rolled his eyes. "We're The Gang."

Marc didn't say anything for a moment. "That's really…generic, Benji."

Benny pushed Marc, teasingly. "I told you never to call me that, man."

"Hey, you try to think of a better name." said Marcia.

"Yeah, it's not as easy as it sounds." Adelaide commented with a glare.

Marc nodded. "Well, you know that some gangs name themselves after their city?"

"Yeah, cuz we all know that nothing says 'Hey we're a group of bad ass mutants' like 'Glendale'." Marcia replied, smirking.

"Okay, back to the point, what do you guys want with me?" asked Marc.

Benny smiled. "Chill Marc, I'm your older cousin…I would let anything happen to you." he said. "We just want to offer you a chance to join us."

Marc shook his head. "Sorry…I don't think so. I'm fine with what I have now."

"Oh okay, I see…you're fine with eating out of filthy, roach infested, dumpsters? You don't mind living in these horrible ten buck hotels and the constant harassments of mutant haters?" Benny presented.

At this, Marc couldn't think of a comeback. It was all true, he knew he hated his life. After he found out that he "killed" his own father he pretty much had given up.

Benny got the idea that he was getting through so he pressed on. "And Halley…she's your legal guardian and yet she threw you out on the streets with almost nothing. Then she has the audacity to send a police search after you?"

Marc's expression grew distraught. He couldn't believe how bad his recent life sounded once it was summed up.

"Family doesn't do that to you, family helps you." continued Benny. "We can't give you a place to live, food, money, safety…what more could you want? So…what do you say?" he added, holding out his hand.

There was a short pause in silence while Marc thought over the proposition. "I say…" he looked at Benny, straight faced. "…family sticks together." he added and slapped hands with him.

"Looks like we got ourselves an new member." Benny said with a smile. "Now let's go hook you up with some grub."

* * *

That night, Benny fulfilled his promise and got Marc a great meal. Well it was only Jack in the Box but, to a person who hasn't had food in over two weeks, it was damn good. They also provided him with a shower by breaking into the local YMCA.

After they ate, they headed back to their hideout. It wasn't incredibly nice but it was much better then the places he's been as of late. The hideout was an abandoned warehouse, which was just as original as their name. It was a little drafty but it was clean and safe.

Benny and Adelaide were in the center of the large warehouse playing 500 with a nerfball. Legna was off to the side drinking blood out of a pack that said 'blood bank' on the label and Marc was relaxing on their couch, just brooding over things.

Marcia walked up behind him and sat on the side of the couch then, purposely, fell backwards so that she was resting her head on Marc's lap. She looked up at him with a smile. "You look kinda down."

Marc blushed a bit, maybe he didn't notice it in before in that dark alley but she was cute. "No…I'm just thinking…" he said, in a dark tone and she sat up next to him. "Just about all of this…"

"What do you mean?" she asked, flashing her green eyes.

"Well I don't even know you guys and you've all been so cool to me...I haven't had someone I could consider a friend in a long while."

She laughed, quietly. "First off, I'm Marcia Nady, nice to meet you…now power is possession." she smiled, leaned over to his ear, and whispered. "I'm a little naughty."

He chuckled nervously, blushing.

She giggled at his reaction and scooted over onto his lap. "That guy over there, Adelaide, he's the self proclaimed ladies man…never leave him with a room with chicks." she advised. "His power is pheromones…he could use them to get any girl he wanted."

"That's a pretty convenient power…I wouldn't mind having it for a day or two." Marc said.

Marcia pointed over at Legna. "That's Legna…what a stupid name, huh?" she asked. "Anyways, he's a…well, none of us are actually sure what he is. We can't figure out if it's his mutation or if he's just a real vampire."

"A _real _vampire? I'm glad I'm not one because then I'd have to miss out on all that decapitationy goodness…" Marc said, drawing a laugh out of Marcia.

"Wouldn't want that." she said, with a very miniscule chuckle. "And ast but not least, Benny. I know you know him."

"Yes, I most certainly do…but what is his power?" asked Marc, looking towards his six-foot-six; two hundred eighty pound; nineteen year old cousin.

"Oh him…he's kinda the boss. He can, like, stop a mutant's powers or…something like that…he also very, _very_, strong." she said, a little unsure of her answer.

"I got one more question for you, Marcia?"

"Mmhmm?"

"Why are you on my lap?"

"Because it's comfortable," she chuckled, making him blush even more. "You got a problem with that?…Good."

"Soo…what's it like possessing someone anyways?"

"Have you ever see 'Ghost'?"

"That one with Patrick Swayze?"

"Yeah."

"No."

"Good."

Marc laughed at that. "Okay, that was fun."

She gave him a little kiss on the lips.

Marc looked shocked by that and smiled. "That was funner."

"There's more where that came from…so what do you say to that? You wanna be my fire?" she asked with a smirk and kissed him again. He couldn't say a word and she laughed. "I'll take that as a yes?"

"Wasn't my nervous stare and hanging jaw enough of an answer for you?" he replied.

* * *

Over the next few weeks, The Gang, along with Marc, continued on their little crime spree. They really didn't do anything major, just enough to get some notice from the authorities.

At first Marc was hesitant about becoming a criminal, they talked him into it eventually. He really had nothing to lose at this point so he figured, why not?

Then, after one 'job' Benny called a meeting. "We got something big…and we're all gonna have to do it perfectly or else we're freakin' screwed!"

Marc sat back in a chair, carelessly. "So? What else is new…?" he said with a smirk.

Benny walked over and picked him up in is chair. "You've been getting way too cocky, Cus."

"Chill…I was just saying that, as usual, if we make one mistake, we're screwed."

"Okay, okay…now, we need to get this to perfection." Benny stated, clear and firm. "This is going to get us out of this hell hole and we'll be livin' in a mansion in Cally."

Adelaide raised a brow. "Big job?"

"Biggest we've ever had…there's this small loans business down by 35th and Northern, their main office is where the money is kept…that's down the street from there."

"We're going for a quick grab-and-go…?" Legna asked.

"No," replied Benny, "we're going for it all - every last cent in that vault…"

They all were taken back by this.

"That's right, if we get this we'll be set for life." he added. Everyone smiled, happily at this thought but he interrupted their delight, "But if we fail…we'll be in jail for thirty plus years…got that?"

They all nodded. "Good…okay, so here's the plan."

Marc's mind wandered for the next few minutes, who could blame him though, he was going to be rich. He knew that as soon as they got that money that Marcia would be wanting to go on a vacation with him.

Sure, she may not have been a perfect girl but he brought out a different side of her. A kinder side. When no one opened up to him she did and he did the same for her. They were in love, simply put.

"Got that Marc?" demanded Benny.

Marc blinked a few times as he snapped out of it. "Huh…oh-- yeah…" he fibbed.

"Dammit, pay attention!" Adelaide sparked, not wanting to hear the whole plan over again.

Benny sighed, heavily. "You have a very important part in this…you need to take care of the guard."

Marc smirked. "What do you want? A distraction or, my personal favorite, hit him until he's out?"

"No, too risky…" he said, turning away. He appeared

to be looking for something.

Marc raised a brow. "What do you have in mind?"

"Ah, here it is," he said and tossed Marc a gun. "You know what to do, right?"

Marc went pale, he understood alright. He understood perfectly.

_::End Flashback::_

Marc snapped out of his trance and looked around. He found himself on an almost deserted road with trees surrounding him. Something didn't feel right though. He stepped on the brakes and nothing happened, he pressed on the brakes again to the same effect. "…shit…"

Suddenly someone quickly ran across the street in front of the truck. Marc panicked and swerved so that he wouldn't hit the person and his tire blew.

The side of the truck was scraping against the dirty asphalt road creating sparks. Marc tried to straighten the wheel but it was too late; the truck flipped as it hit the rail and rolled several times before it's cab hit a tree trunk.

Marc had been ejected through the windshield and was now lying unconscious, scraped up and bloody on the forest floor.

* * *

Please Review and show me you love the story. ::smiles:: 


	40. That Old Gang of Mine 3of6

Disclaimer: Marvel owns X-Men! Blah, blah, blah...

A.p.R. - Hola, my friend! I'm back with new CoA action! Sorry, I took so long to update, I was very busy. I'm going to try to get another chapter out by Thanksgiving, but that'll be hectic. And to Chaotic Jinx, Amara and Roberto have been together since Chapter 32...who's on crack now! Booya!

--------------------------------------------------"we burn a hot fire here"---------------------------------------------------

Kitty ran through the halls and went into Marc's room. He wasn't there. She made her way to Logan's room and banged on the door.

"Calm down, calm down, half pint." Logan grumbled, opening the door. "Now what is it?"

"It's Marc…he's been gone for, like, four hours now and it's getting dark out." she explained, urgently.

"Well maybe he just decided to pop into a strip club or something to…relax" he said sounding serious, even though the badger was really making a funny.

Kitty glared at him, angrily.

He raised an eyebrow, now thinking that he probably shouldn't have said that. "Easy there, we'll find him with Cerebro…don't worry, I'm sure he's fine."

* * *

Marc's eyes slowly began to flutter open, he raised his head from the ground and grunted, feeling a sharp pain in his left side. He looked down, and saw a large piece of metal, probably a chunk of the door, sticking out of his ribs.

Lying flat out on the forest floor, firmly gripped the piece of metal, closed his eyes and winced. "One…two….three." He pulled it out quickly and let out a scream of pain causing several birds to fly away.

After a minute of letting himself adjust to the pain a bit, he crawled over and grabbed the case with Kitty's present and put it back in his pocket. At least that was okay.

He stood up, using a tree for support and gazed at the aftermath, 'okay' was more than he could say for the truck and his cell phone...they were all totaled. His wounds were not a pretty sight and had begun healing, though the severity of them caused his healing factor to work very slowly.

Marc knew that he could stay here for several reasons, the two biggest being the cops and whoever cut his brakes. He started to walk, limply, along the road hoping for someone who could get him to a phone. Hitching a ride on the back of a fruit delivery truck was all he could get. It may not have been the best ride ever but it did make him smell like watermelons. Is that a good thing?

The driver took him to this small old fashioned mini-mall type place. It was nighttime now and Marc began to walk along the sidewalk looking for a payphone.

Suddenly, an arm appeared from the shadows and grabbed Marc by the collar, pulling him into a nearby alley. The arm's owner pinned Marc to a wall about two feet off the ground. The face came into the light. "Remember me?" Benny asked with a smirk.

"Hey Benny…" Marc said, wincing from the pain.

Just then Legna dropped down from the roof, like it was just the step off a curb, and landed on his feet. He wiped some blood from his lip. "Little girls blood is always so tasty. Ya gotta love 'em when they're scared…makes the blood sweeter."

Marc lunged forward at him but Benny grabbed his neck and pushed his head back against the brick wall. Marcia and Adelaide walked out from a corner with their arms around each others' waist. Marcia looked at Marc and licked her lips. "My fire."

"Don't call me that, we are not together anymore." hissed Marc. Benny pressed him to the wall harder causing Marc to groan in pain.

Adelaide sighed. "Aw, I was hoping that car wreck would have killed you. It would have been very fitting to die like your parents." he said with a chuckle.

Benny and Marc glared at him angrily; Adelaide backed away feeling a bit uneasy under their eyes. "Whaaat? I had nothing to do that - 'm just sayin'."

Marc's body began to heat up but then Benny dampened his powers. "Easy there, don't wanna melt that nice piece of jewelry you got there...oh yes we know about you and your precious girl."

"And I must say she is one hell of a kisser." added Adelaide, Marc glared at him.

"I know you guys didn't come down here to try to kill me, what do you want?" asked Marc, placing a hand over his wound.

"You are gonna do a little job for us...and you're going to actually do it this time…you got it…you see, we have something against you now…"

"Oh yeah, and what's that?" demanded Marc, in extreme amounts of pain.

"We'll kill your girlfriend..."

Legna couldn't help but interrupt. "Or I could see if I could make her into a vampire...I don't even know if I can do that. If I try, she'll probably die. So either way we win."

"We're not dumb, we know that we won't be able to take on all the X-Men, but if you don't do this we will bring the fight to the institute. Odds are we'll lose, but not before taking out some of them first, got that?" Benny explained.

Marc hung his head, not proud of what he had to do. "I'll do it, just…just, don't hurt them…"

"Good…meet us at the this address in three hours. It's a gray warehouse" Benny added with a smile, slipping a piece of paper into Marc's bloody pocket. "See you soon…don't tell anyone." With that, Benny threw him like a rag doll, about ten feet away, into a stack of crates and The Gang left the alley.

After about fifteen minutes Marc came to. He then crawled to find a payphone; once he found one he wobbled to his feet. "I just gotta phone the institute, tell them I'm fine and then-- and then……I'm gonna need a doctor…" He reached for the phone, passing out immediately.

* * *

After a few minutes, Professor Charles Xavier's eyes reopened and he gently set the helmet down on the control panel of Cerebro. "I found him. He's at the Gala Plaza near Seventy-eighth Avenue and Willow" he explained. Logan nodded and began to leave. "And Logan…hurry."

In about twenty minutes flat, Logan arrived at Marc's location. He parked his car near the curb and quickly got out, heading towards Marc. "Hey kid, wake up." he said lightly smacking the side of Marc's face. Logan rolled him over onto his back and now saw the large wounds Marc had suffered.

Marc coughed and slowly opened his eyes. "They said they'd kill everyone…Kitty..." he said, slowly remembering what had happened. Logan helped him off the ground. "Thanks, they want me to…or else X-Men would die...they'd kill." he explained almost incoherently, still injured from the crash and the attack.

"You know what? They're easily pissing me off." Logan growled, helping Marc into his car. He got into the driver's side and drove off to the mansion. "What happened to the truck… and why do you look like shit?" he asked, with a raised brow.

"Thanks..." Marc said grimacing. "It's totaled, the brakes were cut, it rolled for a while, then I woke up outside of it." Marc lifted up the side of his mangled shirt to reveal the, still slowly healing, hole in his side.

"Damn! Kid, we need to get you to the infirmary." he said taking a quick glance at Marc's gaping wound. "Who are they?"

**"**They knew...they knew everything. They've been following me for weeks; waiting for the perfect moment to strike. They wanted to toy with me for a while...then they saw Kitty and decided that's the way to start." he explained, holding his wound. "Basically…they just wanted to make my life miserable."

Once at the mansion, Logan rushed him to the infirmary to be treated by Hank. Marc was slipping in and out of consciousness, even with his healing factor these wounds weren't going to heal any time soon. He had fallen asleep as they were hooking him up to an IV line.

He awoke sometime later and looked at the clock, two hours had passed. Marc sat up in bed but fell back and let out a groan from the pain. He tried again, and slid off the bed into a standing position and listened to see if anyone was coming. There was no way he'd ever get out of the mansion like that… there had to be another way.

Marc reached for the IV cord and ripped it out of his flesh. "Ouch…" he sighed in a higher voice.

A window in the center of the room caught his eye; he called a cab before climbing out through it. He tried making a run for it but out of nowhere Jubes came running over and stood in his way. "And where do you think you're going?"

"Jubes…move." he said, trying to go around her but she shuffled her feet in front of him again. He started to go one way and the quickly went the other and got past her and kept walking towards the gates.

She watched him painfully walk away on his bad leg. "Are you going to that address?" she asked, he stopped dead in his tracks. "I saw it when me and Bobby came to check up on you earlier…so are you?"

Marc patted himself down to see if he still had it; he did, Jubes hadn't taken it. "Jubes…don't tell anyone I'm going, please."

She reluctantly nodded and Marc went through the gates and into a waiting taxi cab. She bit her lip, uncertain of what to do. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a napkin that she had written the address down on along with some other things.

Marc had the cab driver drop him off a block from the location. He paid the man and headed off to meet up with them. He arrived at the address and sure enough, the warehouse was there. He approached the entrance when Legna dropped down from the roof behind him. Marc jumped. "Geez…you gotta stop doing that."

"Get in there." Legna hissed, baring his fangs and pushed him into the warehouse.

"Okay man, no pushing…geez, someone woke up on the wrong side of the coffin this mornin'?" Marc said, each sudden movement caused him to feel an extraordinary amount of pain.

He walked in and saw Adelaide, Benny, and Marcia standing in the center of the concrete floor of this old warehouse. Marc kept a cold glare focused upon them. "I'm here…now remember our deal…you don't hurt my friends…"

"Yeah and I plan to follow through with that-" Benny started but his sentence was broken up as the side wall blew out and The New Recruits stepped through the opening.

Tabby smirked. "Guess who?"

* * *

How was it? Let me know by reviewing. holds up sign that says "Will dance for reviews." 


	41. That Old Gang of Mine 4of6

Disclaimer: I own the story, Marc and The Gang…I don't own the X-Men damnit!

A.p.R. - Today is my one year birthday on ! Woohoo! I may have been getting a little slow with updates but I am here to say that Coming of Age is SO not over. These last few weeks have been tough plus the next two weeks I have finals but CoA is not gonna stop! You have my word! Enjoy the next chapter, kids!

------------------For my next miracle, I will turn water…into FUNK-----------------

::Earlier That Night::

Bobby was distraught. His best friend, Marc, had been pulverized. He looked so weak and lifeless; silence was not something that would usually describe Marc but it's different now.

"Marc, can you hear me…?" he asked, placing his hand on the rail of Marc's bed in the infirmary. Just then, Jubes walked in and rested her hand atop Bobby's tense shoulder.

"Hank said he'd be fine…don't worry." she said, comfortingly. "He just needs his rest…and maybe the lack of that hole in his side."

Bobby guffawed. "Yeah and-"

"…and maybe some morphine…" interrupted Marc with a groan.

"Marc!" said Jubes, surprised. "I'll tell Hank-"

"No," he interrupted once more. "Come back…"

She complied and sat down in a chair next to Bobby.

"I don't have long so listen up and don't forget anything…" Marc explained in a shadowy voice; Jubes pulled a napkin out of a nearby drawer and Bobby handed her a pen since his hand writing was illegible.

The injured mutant coughed and pressed his palm over his wound and began explaining the situation. He proceeded to tell them what he knew: weaknesses, strengths, powers and a few other minor details. However, he left out many of the more personal details. "Okay, Bobby…I need you to lead The New Recruits on this one…don't tell anyone else…please?"

The pain and the weakness of his damaged frame caused him to pass out. Bobby looked at Jubes, who had stood up and turned her back to them. "Hold onto that napkin and help me round up the rest of recruits and we'll meet outside."

"Hey, are you sure we should be doing this? I mean, they did this to Marc…who's to say that we won't get worse done to us?" she said, somewhat panicking.

"You heard what he said…they'll try to kill us all anyway. I agree with him, we should bring the fight to them." he said, standing and walking up behind her.

She bit her lip in hesitance. "I don't know…shouldn't we at least tell-"

"No…no one." Bobby said, sternly. "Besides, this is the perfect chance to show Scott that I can be an X-Man."

* * *

Jubes passed Logan, who was securing the perimeter, and the two watched each other out of the corner of their eyes, suspiciously, as they passed.

Jubes had a feeling that he'd be trying to sneak around and see what she was doing. Marc climbed out the window of the infirmary and tried making a run for it but out of nowhere Jubes came running over and stood in his way. "And where do you think you're going?" she said with a wink, signaling to him that Logan was present.

::Present::

Marc kept a cold glare focused upon them. "I'm here…now remember our deal…you don't hurt my friends…"

"Yeah and I plan to follow through with that-" Benny started but his sentence was broken up as part of the side wall blew out and The New Recruits along with Bobby stepped through the opening.

Tabby smirked. "Guess who?"

Benny glared at Marc. "Remember what I told you about coming _alone_?"

"Yeah."

"Then how do _you _explain _that_?"

"Hey, I came alone…they came together."

Bobby looked around. "Follow the plan, team!" he shouted and they all dispersed.

Jubilee headed straight for Legna with a black duffel bag slung over her shoulder while Iceman iced up before him and Cannonball advanced on Benny.

Wolvesbane, Boom Boom, and Magma went after Marcia.

Marc quickly gave Adelaide a sidekick to the chest, sending them both back a few steps. Marc grunted as he felt his wound tear open a bit and a blotch of blood seeped through his shirt.

Jubilation hit the vampire across his face with the bag and that blow distracted him long enough for Jubes to open up the bag and pulled out a water bottle and a baggy filled with garlic.

"What're going to do, girly?" Legna taunted, visibly licking his fangs in anticipation of sinking his teeth into the Asian girl before him.

Jubes smirked, twisted the cap off the bottle, and splashed the 'holy' water out at the him. Legna backed away and rubbed his eyes from the water in them. "Why'd you do that?!" he barked.

Jubes snapped her fingers. "I told Jamie that just because you pray for the water the water it doesn't make it holy." she said to herself. "So that didn't work…"

By this time the vampire had recovered, looking fiercely at her. "I'm going to kill you _so _slowly for that." he said, snarling at her in annoyance.

Boom Boom shifted her interest for Marcia to Legna and threw a little Boom-ball near him. It exploded, fazing him a little so that Jubilee could toss the herb at him.

He inhaled deeply, a surprised look on his face. After a short pause he let out a monstrous sneeze. "What the hell was that about?" he whined with a sneezey-face.

"Wait…isn't this stuff supposed to kill you undead guys?" she asked, calmly and confused.

Legna shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. "No-no-no, it just gives us mild indigestion."

Jubes nodded, sighed then shrugged. "Learn something new everyday, I guess."

The vampire nodded. "Yeah, it's true, you know? My mom taught me that…"

"Hmm…"

"Mmhmm…"

They stood in silence for a moment until Legna broke the silence. "So…you gonna run away screaming now?"

"It's probably for the best…" Jubes said and took off running with him close behind.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the warehouse, Iceman lunged at Benny but was too strong and he effortlessly swatted him away. Bobby landed with a smack on the smooth concrete floor. "Sam, now!" he demanded, weakly.

"Let see how you like this…" Sam cannonballed towards the large man and slammed into his gut, sending him stumbling back. Cannonball fell down from the impact then, regaining his bearings, looked up to see an arm clobbering down at him, connecting with his face and knocking him out for the moment.

Deeply, Benny chuckled. "It was okay." he said, jauntily.

"Sam…" Seeing this, Rahne rushed to his aid, leaving Magma and Boom Boom to take Marcia.

Tabitha threw a few more boomers, this time they were towards Marcia. Marcia, cleverly jumped out of the way and smirked. "Okay, so you're fast...but this'll get ya." Tabitha picked up a 2x4 from the ground and swung it at Marcia; she ducked out of harms way.

Marcia performed a quick handstand with a good kick to Tabby's chest at midpoint before going back to a standing position. Boom Boom tripped into Magma's arms just before falling. "I gotcha…"

Amara then received a punch in the face for her interference but this caused Amara to change into her Magma form. Marcia took a few steps back at this sight.

Marc and Adelaide were scrapping it out near a mini-crane machine that was suspending a crate. "You know wanna know what was best about kissing Kitty?" Adelaide taunted, evading a blow from Marc.

Fyreside replied with a sweeping-sidekick that Adelaide bent his upper body away from.

"She gave me some tongue…but I'm sure she's done that with you before, right?" he asked, haughtily chuckling.

"Ouch, that really hurt…" Marc said, throwing a punch.

"This'll be worse." Adelaide said, catching his arm between his bicep and chest then yanked up, tugging at the socket of the fire mutant's elbow. "I could have gotten her even without my powers…it's a wonder that a girl like that could even be seen with a bastard like you!"

"Ah!" Marc yelped in pain from the hyperextension. He took a deep breath. "Wanna play the insult game, do ya?" Fyreside then twisted around, tripping Adelaide down to a knee.

Marc smirked. "You're an idiot," he said, booting him in the temple then shifting and kicking him and nailed Adelaide in the rear of his head. "…okay, so I'm not that good with the insults." he said, wiping the sweat from his brow, as the bad guy fell face first to the floor.

"Addy!" Marcia cried, taking her eyes off the action and was the victim of a punch to the jaw by Amara.

Legna had Jubilee trapped between a bunch of crates and him. Terrified by this creature, she quickly ran to the left but was stopped and then shot off to the right but to no avail. She was cornered. "C'mon, darlin', look at the bright side. At least you'd die at the hands of such a handsome vamp."

Bobby, who had been trying to think up a way of hurting Benny, dashed to his girlfriend; a furrowed brow was evident even in ice form.

He ran forward, jumping over crates and hurdling over some over turned traffic cones. His arms raised and he clenched his fists, creating a mass of diamond hard ice over them.

Once in striking distance, he jumped up and thrust his clobbering ice-fist down, across his body and struck the side of Legna's pale jaw. "Ya know, for a guy who can't see his own reflection, you are very vain."

Caught by cold, Legna flew five feet into the cool metal wall. "Jubes, you okay?" he asked, thawing down and taking her by the hands.

"Yeah…yeah, I think so…you?" she replied, breathing heavily.

"I'm fine as long as you are…-" he was abruptly cut off as Sam, who had been deflected by Benny, came out of nowhere and crashed into him.

Rahne morphed into her wolf form and was prepared to pounce at Benny. She was foaming at the mouth as her lips quivered with every growl that escaped her throat.

She rested her weight on the balls of her hind paws and then shot forward, pouncing at him. Benny had little time to react, she was going straight for his throat. Sealing his eyes in concentration he dampened her power, reducing her to her normal form.

Benny stepped aside lackadaisically, letting Rahne land on her hands and knees. The pain from that landing ran through her body as if it was her own blood. Her knees, sore, her outstretched palms and elbows, swollen and cut. She was completely defenseless in this position.

Benny looked down at her. "Bad dog." he said, going to stomp on her. She slid through his legs and, with a rush of strength, gave him a swift uppercut to the groin.

Benny gasped, falling to his knees. "You bitch…"

"Aye." Proud of herself, Rahne used whatever she had left to get to a safer area of the vicinity.

Benny got to his feet and stormed towards Marc. Marc bent down and he and Sam pulled Bobby out from underneath Legna. "Bobby - you need to lay off the burgers…" Marc said. Suddenly, Sam went flying backwards. Marc looked behind him, seeing Benny and took a swing. Benny caught his cousin's fist, put his arm on his left shoulder, and snapped his shoulder.

Marc cried out, agonizingly. Benny grinned, tossing him into a half gainer at Tabby and Magma, bashing into them.

Benny, Legna, Adelaide, and Marcia all stood up as they recovered and looked around. They had taken them all out.

"Well…this was fun…" Marcia said, holding her head from that punch. Amara may not look it, but she has a hell of a left.

"What should we do with them?" Adelaide asked, scratching the back of his head. "Beat them s'more?"

Benny cackled. "Burn the place to the ground…then we'll take it to X-Men."

"They say they're strong…"

"…and I say…let's dance." Legna grinned. _Snikt. _His head rolled off his shoulders and he turned to dust. As the cloud of ash hit the floor…

Logan smirked. "Can _I _cut in…?"

* * *

DUN-DUN-DUN! Review please. 


	42. That Old Gang of Mine 5of6

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men! You all know what I own.

A.p.R. - Well, I'm back with a new chapter! WoOt! My holiday break starts tomorrow so I'm happy. Now for the business side: I am going to take a break to write a whole lot of chapters so I can not have to strain to update every week and still keep up my school work. So it wont be that long, don't worry, probably two weeks at best.

------------------------------------------------Happy Holidays Folks------------------------------------------------

"They say they're strong…"

"…and I say…let's dance." Legna grinned.

Snikt.

His head rolled off his shoulders, he turned to dust. As the cloud of ash hit the floor…

Logan smirked. "Can _I _cut in…?"

Marc's dislocated shoulder throbbed with a burning hot pain, the bones scraped against one another. Every movement, no matter how miniscule, caused him pain and forced his breathing to slow. He crawled to a knee, lifted his head up, his eyes widened. "Wolverine…?"

Logan held his claws in front of his face and blew the ash off them as if he were blowing the smoke for a recently fired gun. Legna's dust remained strewn in every direction as it mixed with the air.

Adelaide took a step slightly behind Marcia. "Who…who are you?"

"Name's Logan, Bub," he snarled, holding his claws by his side, "and you're on my bad side."

Benny stood his ground. Hey, you, Runt?" he said, Logan's attention turned to him. "You think you can just walk in here, decapitate our friend, and think you can just waltz off? Eh-eh! Ain't gonna happen."

"Too bad…and I was gonna let you LIVE!" Logan said and leapt at Benny, his claws aiming for his chest.

Rahne looked at Logan. "He's going at kill 'em…"

"He's gonna save us… " Tabby said.

Jubes looked at Logan in disbelief. "…then he's going to kill us…"

Roberto and Ray ran through the hole in the wall made earlier by 'the princess of blowing up things' a.k.a. Tabitha.

"What? Did you forget about us guys?" asked Ray, holding out his hands and giving Adelaide a big shock of electric energy. Adelaide crashed into Benny, knocking him out of Logan's way; he proceeded to hit a railing after deflecting off Benny.

Roberto dodged Marcia and quickly tied up Adelaide with a thick rope he found in the bag. Ray went to attack Marcia but was met with a kick to the groin, dropping him on the spot.

Logan looked at the two. "Ray…Roberto! What're you doing here?!"

"We were trying to find a place to buy a map - but we got lost…why do you think we're here?" Ray said.

Wolverine rolled his eyes and then lunged at Benny.

Benny was up and dealing with Wolverine now. He was going about this very carefully, not wanting to experience the same fate as Legna. Logan slashed at Benny's stomach and missed; Benny used this and punched him straight in the face, bloodying up his nose.

Marc's legs stood unsteadily underneath him, his abused body slumped to left as his left arm hung limp at his side. It became visible to anyone who looked that there was heat radiating from his body, creating short heat waves around him. His eyes became burning coals fixated on his cousin. "BENNY!"

On reflex, Benny turned around to see his beaten-up cousin stomping towards him. Logan slashed Benny across the back while he was turned away. Benny grunted in pain and turned around and glared at Logan.

Marc stormed at him but stopped, spotting a crowbar on a crate next to him. He reached for it, grasping its' cool metal exterior tightly in his right hand and continuing on his path. He stumbled a bit as he made a short charge, clocking him in the back of the neck with the weapon.

"Guh!" Benny wobbled a bit and turned around to face Marc who dropped the crowbar.

"This is for my shoulder!" Marc growled, punching him in the throat. "This is for my friends!" he added, angrily, punching him in the gut. "AND THIS, is for that time, when I was six, and you told me that an evil clown lived in my closet!" he said in a snarl, giving him a strong uppercut, sending him to the floor.

Marcia ran towards Adelaide. He was tied up to the railing. Amara jumped out in front, but Marcia pulled out her handgun, pointing it at her chest.

Marc turned around and saw this, unknowing to him, Benny was getting up and ready to attack. Wolverine tackled Benny down. Marc looked back and saw what would have happened. "Thanks." he said and ran over to Amara's aid.

Marc moved between Amara and the gun, cautiously. "Amara - go." he demanded, calmly and wary. Amara complied, moving from behind him and ran to the others. "Marcia…put it down." he said, holding his palm out to her, ready to send a blast of flames at her.

"No…Marc, you need to move. Now!" said Marcia, clicking the gun, placing both hands on it. Marc looked into her eyes. "Marc, don't make me do this. Please…move!"

Her finger gently pressed the trigger; becoming twitchy. She was ready to shoot him, she wanted to shoot him so why was it so hard to pull the trigger?

She hung her head and began lowering the gun. Suddenly, Adelaide broke free from the rope, pushing Marc into Marcia.

Bang.

Marc's body slumped to the floor writhing and kicking in pain. He was just nicked by the bullet, it hurt like hell. It grazed the open gash in his side.

Marcia looked at Adelaide in shock, dropping the gun. Adelaide grabbed her by the arm and pulled her with him. "Come on, Marcia!" he snapped.

Bobby saw Marc on the floor and noticed Marcia dropping the gun. He quickly froze the ground below them. Adelaide stumbled; Marcia fell and slid on the ice. Adelaide was about to help her to her feet but noticed Bobby coming for them.

He made a grimacing face. "Sorry, luv, gotta go." With that, he took off running out of the warehouse and was gone in seconds.

Tabby charged at Marcia and kicked her in the face, hard. "That's what you get."

Benny pushed Wolverine backwards. Logan ran away from Benny toward a beam, which he ran up, gaining momentum to use against his target. Then he turned his body and kicked Benny in the face. He landed on his feet in front of the large mutant.

Logan growled and leapt into the air to kick him again, but Benny grabbed his foot and proceeded to fling him back and forth against the ground.

Benny chuckled and let go of Wolverine's foot, grabbed him by the chest, and threw him into a wall.

"Is that all you've got?" Logan muttered, getting to his feet. "I'm still standing!" he growled, springing at him.

"Logan ain't gonna be able to keep this up for long." Sam said.

Roberto took a deep breath, feeling his bruised ribs. "Damn, does this guy have a weak spot?!"

It was then that Marc remembered the chink in Benny's armor, his Achilles' heel. Marc was eight at the time and he and Benny were walking home from the comic shop. It was summer in Arizona, they were both wearing sandals. From out of nowhere a dog attacked them. They ran but the dog bit into Ben's heel. He was in the hospital for a week, and it was the only time he had ever seen him injured.

Marc tried weakly to walk toward Bobby, leaning on Roberto for support. "Jubilee - stake."

"T-Bone or wooden?" she asked with a tired smile, tossing him the stake.

Marc caught it. "Bobby - give me an ice slide, please."

Bobby created a trail of thin ice on the ground towards Benny. Benny smashed Wolverine against the ground.

Marc took a deep breath and took a few steps back, then ran and slid on the icy ground, fast. He was coming up to Benny as he gripped the sharp-wooden object in his hands. Marc's eyes focused on his target and a second later he drove the stake downward into Benny's lower-calf.

Benny was trying to break Logan over his knee when he felt the rush of pain shooting up his leg. Marc closed his eyes and ripped out the stake. Benny laid out on the ground, holding the back of his bloody ankle as he rolled around in pain.

Marc looked down at Benny as he stood up; Marc wouldn't have let anyone else do that. He didn't want anyone else to have that blood on their hands. He stumbled back a bit, Logan caught him and sustained him until Marc got his balance back.

Bobby walked over, holding his side. "Looks like we took care of that." he said, looking at all the post-bedlam surrounding them.

Click.

They all turned around to see Marcia, her hair frizzed and her lip bloodied, holding the handgun, her aim set directly at Marc.

* * *

Legna held the frightened security guard out to his side. "Give it to him!"

The Gang stood in a small, darkish, hall. One fluorescent tube light offering its' off-white glow as the only means of illumination. Marc held the gun in his quivering hand. "This…I can't do this. Can't we knock him out."

"And see an unflattering police illustration of me on the six o'clock news? Hello!" Marcia mocked, walking over to him nibbling on his ear.

"Marcia-"

"C'mon baby, hurry up cuz when we get back," she said, seductively into his ear, "I might just give you a treat." she said, slowly and sexily, resting her fingertips at the buckle of his belt as she fiddled with it. The gun went off accidentally and the bullet hit the wall; Marc blushed.

"Sorry." Marc said, awkwardly.

The guard was just dead weight, pleading to each of the five. "Oh God, please! One of you just, please - I have a wife, a daughter! Please!"

"Will you stop saying that - you've told us already!" snapped Adelaide, arrogantly, feeling really tough right now.

"Marc," Benny looked at his watch, "get it done."

Marc closed his eyes regaining his composure. He considered himself a murderer. After what happened to his parents. What his aunt did to him. What did he have to lose?

He looked into the guard's eyes then they both closed them.

Bang.

The bullet hit the fluorescent tube light, shattering it in the now pitch black hallway.

Marc punched Legna and grabbed the guard then dragged him over to the window. He looked down. It was a good fifty foot drop, but saw a pile of old mattresses near a dumpster.

"Hold on," Marc instructed the guard who nodded. He took a step back and sprinted a whole six feet,then dove out the window with the guard.

The guard hit the mattresses.

Marc's aim was off. His head and body literally bounced off the dumpster with the glass raining on him as he slid off and fell to the ground.

"I am never doing that again." he said, getting to his feet as the guard helped him up.

The man shook Marc's hand. "Thank you so much."

Marc pattered him on the back. "Run." he replied, knowing they'd be after the both of them. The man nodded at Marc and ran off to his car. Marc looked up at the window and saw Marcia looking down at him from it.

Their eyes locked for what felt like hours, searching each others' souls. They were in love, but this was the end for them. They knew it.

Marc broke the eye-lock. He half-heartedly turned, limping away as she watched him with a tear in her eye.

* * *

Marc signaled for her to put the gun down by holding his hand out. "Marcia-"

"NO! No, how could you do this to us?!" she said, looking at the pile of dust that was Legna. "And Benny, he was your family." she added, looking at him writhing on the floor with the back of his right heel missing.

Bobby shook his head, leaning on Logan for support. "It's not like you guys gave him a choice."

"Shut up!" she snapped, looking at Bobby, the gun still pointed at Marc. Marcia glared at Marc. "We were like a family to you - we took you in."

"You tried to make me a murderer…" he said, still gasping from pain as he was halfway doubled over.

She grinded her teeth together. "You turned on us and you know it. You've always known it. That's why you ran. You came here to be sheltered and to be away from the harshness of life. You left us there to get locked in the slammer and you didn't mind that thought. I thought you were different…but now I see Benny is right. You forgot where you came from, you forgot-"

"No, I found my lost conscience. I came to this state, to this place, to find peace with myself-"

"Are you sure you weren't just running away from your problems?"

"I…"

"Save it."

"I'm not perfect, I know that much. I have faults. A lot of them. But I would never take a life like that - and to ask me to is messed up."

"Marc…!" she scowled, hating his vindication. She shook her head fiercely and stomped her foot. Somewhere inside she knew he was right.

While this was happening, Logan slowly crouched down and picked up a sledgehammer that was lying on the ground.

Marc saw this out of the corner of his eye and he knew Logan wasn't going for a non-lethal shot. That feral look in his eyes was unmistakable. "Logan, no!"

Logan hurled the sledgehammer at Marcia's head.

The following moments were in slow motion to everyone.

Marc glanced back at Logan and just as quickly looked back at the weapon spinning towards her. Marc jumped out, in front of it at the last second. The weapon smashed against the back of Marc's head; the impact made him collide with her.

Marc hit a the side of the mini-crane, his arm inadvertently pulling a lever. The lever caused the crane to swing its' load of crates.

Marcia held her head as she got up from the ground. She turned and screamed, seeing the lift's carrier heading for her. Everyone tried to get over there, but it was no use. They all shut their eyes and turned away. They all stood in silence; reluctantly turning back to the poor girl.

Marc's eyes opened, very hazily. He saw a blurred figure laid out on the floor. "Marcia?" he said, groggily, his vision becoming clearer now. He saw the carrier and the lever and put it together. It was his fault.

"Marcia?" he called, limping over to her as fast as he could with the gash in his right thigh. He knelt down next to her limp body and put two fingers to the side of her neck. No pulse. He scooped her up, as best he could, while staying on a knee. "Marcia…c'mon…c'mon, Marcia, come on." he urged her desperately to open her eyes; she did not. "No, no…just open your eyes…please." pleaded Marc, frantically.

The others looked on at the sight of their friend slowly breaking down, watching the torment in his heart coming through on his face. None of them knew exactly how he was feeling, they never knew about those twos' past together.

Marcia was Marc's first love. That fact could not be denied. No matter how much they've been through and all of this that had happened today, none of that could have changed. Though it may not have been as strong as love anymore, they still cared. They both had equal opportunities to take each other out but neither of them were able to do it.

His tears dropped onto her cheek, like rain, from his chin.

They all just stood there in a packed group and watched. Not knowing what to say - what to do - if they should do anything.

Marc held her close to his chest, and he sobbed.

* * *

Please Review. 


	43. That Old Gang of Mine 6of6

Disclaimer: Marvel would send bounty hunters after me if I claimed to own anything of theirs so I only own the ideas of the chapters, Marc and The Gang.

A.p.R. - I'm BACK! Sorry it took so long. But hey, the next chapter is going to be the biggest chapter ever so get psyched about that. I hope you all will like this chapter. Thanks for the reviews.

---------------------------------------------It's a nice day for a white wedding----------------------------------------------

Marc sat on the church bench, the church built into the west wing of the hospital. It was empty, quiet, the only sound was the flickering of the orange flames on the wicks of the candles.

His eyes and cheeks were red and puffy from the river of tears. His left arm was in a sling, butterflies were applied to the larger wounds on his forehead, gauze was wrapped around his right arm, and a semi-hard cast around his ribs.

What can I do

To help you get through these days

Can I point out the path

or shine the light

to help you find your way

Marc's tears were not for himself nor his cousin, they both would be fine in time. His tears were for another. Crying for his first love, crying for Marcia. The salty tears into the wounds felt like nothing to him anymore.

Tonight, he was numb. Numb to pain, numb to the world, but in his own mind. In his own heart, he was lost. Consumed.

He was again responsible for the death of a loved one.

The church's reverend walked over, with the Good Book in his hand, to Marc. "Something's troubling you…is there something I can do to help?"

"Yes…there is." Marc prudently stood up, pushing himself to his feet with the side of the bench as support. He walked over to two of the candles and put their tiny flames out by pinching it with his fingers and left the church.

I know you are lost

And so confused these days

The darkness inside

Has clouded your eyes

But help is on the way

He sat down in a chair next to his unconscious cousin's bed. What he had to do now was not easy. He reached over and placed his hand on the cradle of the phone then pulled it over and sat it on his lap.

His tears dripping onto the buttons as he brought the receiver up to his ear and began dialing.

The phone rang three times before a woman answered. "Hello?"

"Hello. Mrs. Nady…?"

Look for the light

Change what you see

Day follows night

Goodness is free

Marc stood up and leaned his forehead against the cold glass of the window of the hospital room. He explained that that Marcia had passed on. He could almost hear Marcia's mother's heart shatter.

He purposely neglected to tell them what she did with The Gang; he knew her parents thought she ran away. Why spoil that for them? Why should he ruin their vision of their sweet, innocent, baby girl with the harsh reality.

So rather than the truth, he did something he hated to do, he told them a beautiful lie.

Marcia was a good, kind, person, however misguided. He remembered that she used to call her mother and father and talk. She loved them, but she didn't want to live how she was living. In a broken down home, her parents were fine but she had dreams of better things. She tried to get there herself, but eventually she fell in with The Gang.

Look for the light

Hold on be strong

You're always right

Where you belong

Logan watched Marc from around the corner of the door. Listening to the waver in his voice as he spoke to the woman. He knew better than anyone that Marc blamed himself and if there was another person he would blame it would be him.

He was the one who really was to blame. He let his feral rage override his better judgment. He crossed his arms over his chest as Marc hung the phone up and sat down.

It was too soon for Logan to try to talk to Marc. Sometimes people just need time. These wounds were very real. Scars left on Marc. Scars on body and mind. Logan sighed and walked back to the waiting room where the others were waiting.

Who's fooling who

Who'll lose is you these days

I can point out the path

And shine the light

but you must find your way

He walked in to see that Xavier had arrived in his absence, along with Kitty, who was worried about her boyfriend. The others had some bandages and a few other injuries, but nothing serious.

Charles did not look pleased. It was time to explain. Logan told him everything he knew, the others filled in the details he missed. Kitty snuck out of the room to go and find Marc.

I know you are lost

And so confused these days

The darkness inside

Has clouded your eyes

But help is on the way

She walked into the circular corridor, looked over the room numbers listed on the side of the doors as she counted them in her head. "1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10...11."

She saw Marc in the room and moved to walk in but a hand grabbed her shoulder gently from behind. She turned to see Ororo. Kitty looked at her puzzled; Ororo shook her head.

Look for the light

Change what you see

Day follows night

Goodness is free

"Kitty…Marc, needs to be alone." she said, reluctantly.

"But-"

"No, Kitty, you know you and he are very close…but he's going to be very emotional and he's not going to be thinking straight." she said, turning Kitty and walking her back to the waiting room.

Look for the light

You must not fall

Hold on real tight

You'll lose it all

Marc held the beautiful silver necklace he had gotten for Kitty in his hand. He let it slide slowly off his palm but caught it by it's shiny chain just as it was about to fall. He looked into the amethyst stone on the locket.

Some anniversary this was. It was now midnight, their anniversary had passed. He really hoped he could make this up to her someway. Again, something was his fault or, at least, he felt as if it was.

I know you are lost

And so confused these days

The darkness inside

Has clouded your eyes

But help is on the way

Marc stood up with pain, he needed to get something off of his chest. Something that had been torturing his soul and wouldn't let him sleep.

He walked with a purpose down the hallway, passing windows that were covered with beads of heavy rain from the storm.

He still wasn't in great shape so his movements were slow and halting at times but he was still making his way to confront his problems. He was now standing in front of the hospital's church.

I know you are lost

And so confused these days

The darkness inside

Has clouded your eyes

But help is on the way

He slowly entered, taking notice that no one was in there. He shut the doors behind him and locked them so he wouldn't be interrupted. He dragged a chair over so it was facing the front of the room.

The front of the room had a very large cross with a row of fifteen candles in front of it, the two candles he had put out were still out.

"We need to talk." he said, sitting in the wooden chair, facing the cross.

Look for the light

Change what you see

Day follows night

Goodness is free

"I've tried to figure it out on my own…I have tried, you know." Marc said, staring dead forward at the cross, awaiting some answers. "Don't be shocked…I still believe in you. I just don't like you. You up there on your cloud, or castle, or wherever the HELL you are! Holding the answers!"

At the yell he winced, his wounds stretching each time he grew loud. "Why doesn't anything ever work out the way it should?" he said, breathing heavily.

"Why does everyone I get close to get hurt?" he brooded, sobbing silently. "God, after you took- ripped my parents away from me, it hurt me. You hurt me. After my aunt threw me out, I gave up on you! I gave up on you because you gave up on us!"

He grunted loudly and angrily and waited for an answer. "What, not going to come down and SMITE me?!" he snapped, standing up. "Please! Don't just take this from me! Do something, strike me down! C'mon, you know you want to! Coward!" he shouted, falling to his knees from the tears overcoming his body. "I'm sorry…"

His head hung downward at the ground. "It's all my fault - I'm sorry. I can't blame you…it's me! I am the poison to the people around me!" he cried, putting his palms over his eyes, wet with tears.

"Dad…I'm so sorry! I wish I could take that blood back! I didn't know…I didn't mean to - I didn't know that it would…kill you. I didn't know, mom. Please, I love you mom…I never meant for anything to happen like this. You both promised me you'd spoil my kids…when I had them. How could you leave me?"

Look for the light

"Mom, you always talked about how you would cry when I went off to college and how I would have to come back every two weeks. You said you'd make my favorite meal, mashed potatoes, because you said I'd need a real meal instead of living off junk food."

You must not fall

He hit himself in the face. "You said you'd come to my basketball games if I made the team. You told me I'd need to work on my 3-pointers…so we'd work every week before my the team went to the finals." he said with a slight smile at the memory. "I'm sorry…both of you."

Hold on real tight

"Mom, Dad…I'm sorry." he said. "Do you hear me?! I'm so sorry!" he groaned. "I'm sorry for you both dying, I'm sorry for turning my back on what you taught me to never let go of…sorry for running. God, I'm sorry, God…I was wrong. Forgive me…please, forgive me."

You'll lose it all

There was almost no sound but the rain on the windows and the thunder in the sky. "Please…are you guys hearing me? Give me a sign…I'm sorry. Just, please, let me know you can hear me…I want to know that…I need to understand that you do."

Suddenly, the church lights went out and the only light was that of the moon from the windows. It was silent. Marc jumped as one of the windows flew open, unleashing a huge gust in the church. All the candles blew out, their smoke making ghosts in the breeze.

Marc's heart was pounding from that scary moment. He stood up and walked over to the window and pushed it shut with his good shoulder and exhaled. He leaned up against the window and sighed again. "Just the wind."

The two candles Marc had put out a while back where now lit . He caught it out of the corner of his eye. He looked over curiously as he walked over cagily. He picked up the chair and reset it where it was before the wind blew it over.

He sat down and looked at the two candles. Slowly, a smile grew on his face.

Three hours later…

Marc sat down on the bed in his room at the mansion. Sitting on the edge of it tilted forward, holding his shoulder which was still hurting. His tears had stopped flowing, his nose was pretty red and runny, and his head hurt badly. He reached under his bed and pulled out his duffle bag.

He unzipped the bag then began packing his clothes; folding them before placing them in.

Ororo knocked on the door to his room before opening it. She stood there, dressed as if she were ready to go someplace. In her hands were her keys and her purse that contained two roundtrip airline tickets. Tickets to Phoenix. "Flight's in an hour."

* * *

The song in this chapter is called "These Days" and it's by Beat and Path. 

I hope you all liked it...please leave me some reviews!


	44. All Good Things

Disclaimer: A long time ago in a galaxy far, far, away…I still didn't own the X-Men. I own this great idea, Marc Maseon, and the unfamiliar characters in this chapter.

A.p.R. - Well, this is by far the biggest chapter I have ever written. And the best. I'm not going to waist any more of your time so I'm going to let you read and leave me a really big review. Enjoy.

--------------------------------------------------All Good Things--------------------------------------------------

Duncan Matthews: Jock, stud, captain of the football team, the most popular guy in school. How did he get here? On his knees, defeated, his nose bloody and his letterman jacket's shoulder nearly torn off and muddy. The cold, pouring, rain beating down on him in the darkness of the night. His only light being that of the pale moon which reflected in the rippling puddles that covered the ground.

How did this happen?

This morning…

The ringing of the alarm clock was enough to drive a guy crazy. An arm reached out from underneath the covers and started feeling around for the noisy device, knocking random things off the nightstand in the process.

The hand finally felt the old-fashioned clock and pressed the button, then went back under the blanket.

"Duncan…time to get up, sweetie!" Sally, his mom, called from downstairs.

He groaned from under the tan blanket. Sitting up in bed, he bent forward, his eyes squinting from the bright light shining through the curtains in his room.

He ran both hands over his face and through his blonde hair before giving a groan as he stretched his arms over his head. He twisted his torso from side to side, popping his back. Sliding to the side of the bed, he stood up and began his morning calisthenics in the center of his large room.

His room was as it should be for a high school jock, a trophy shelf of all of his awards, a few posters of his favorite sports teams and one above his bed of his favorite 'athlete' Anna Kournikova. The carpeted floor only visible through the piles of clothes and equipment scattered across it's surface.

"Duncan, are you up?" Joe, his father, asked as he knocked on his door. Joe is about six feet tall, he was a little round mainly due to his beer belly, and he had a receding hairline.

"Yeah, pops." he said, doing sit-ups as his father entered the room.

Joe smiled at his son and helped him off the ground. "That's my boy right there, always keeping in shape for next season."

Duncan gave a little chuckle. "I have to or I'll end up with one of those…" he said, patting his old man's beer belly as the walked downstairs.

"Hey, boy, I used to have a six-pack." Joe protested.

Sally walked over to the table and set down a large plate of homemade chocolate chip waffles. "And now you have one daily - now sit down, your breakfast will get cold."

Sally was very pretty, she was the all American girl in her time.

Duncan took a big whiff of the meal. "Thanks, mom, my favorite." he said, as they all sat down at the table.

Joe unraveled the curled up newspaper and unfolded it in front of him.

They all pretty much ate the delicious breakfast in silence for a few minutes.

Joe scoffed and tapped the paper with the back of his hand. "Looks like some muties got into a scrap in the ol' rundown warehouse two days ago." he said, annoyed. "One girl died. No sweat off my back, I hope those freaks God damn kill each other."

"Joe, no swearing at the table, please." Sally scolded.

Joe shook his head and sighed. "You know how I get when it comes to those punks. They make it unsafe for our kids at school. They think they're better than us and you know something, they push our kids around too, don't they champ?" he asked, patting Duncan on the back.

Duncan took a bit of his waffle then had a sip of his orange juice. "Yeah…dad." he replied, sheepishly.

"See, what's wrong with America now - when good boys like Duncan can't go to school without being bullied by!" he said then sighed, heavily. "Okay, I'm sorry…let's just get off the subject. So Duncan, we get your physical results back today - then you can make the baseball team."

"Yeah…"A horn honked from the outside. "Oh, that's Taryn." Duncan's head turned then looked back at his parents and smiled. "Great breakfast, ma. Catch you guys later." he said, getting up, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and running out the door.

He headed out, nearly tripping on a lawn gnome. "Damn gnome." he muttered. under his breath. Duncan jumped over the passenger door of her convertible and into the seat. "Hey, babe." he said, giving her a kiss.

"Hey." she said with a smile then began driving. "Oh, did you hear about that big fight over the weekend?" she said, very valley-girlish.

"Fight…?" he wondered, an eyebrow raised at this.

"Yeah, some of the mutants from Xavier's Institute for freaks and some other muties got into a huge fight." she stated. "The news said that there was this one girl who one of the mutants killed."

"No way." He dug around

"Yeah, the channel nine news said so…" she said, then contemplated for a moment. "Though, they also reported that the sun was blotted out on LA last year, but that's just crazy."

Duncan chuckled. "Well, I think I'm going to have a little chat with Drake today. See what he knows."

"Sounds good, tell me what you find out, Duncan." she said.

Scott's car passed them; Jean, Bobby, Amara, Jubes, and some others were also seated in the red car.

"Yo, Summers, how you guys doing?" Duncan joked, noticing the injuries on some of the mutants.

Scott grimaced and grinded his teeth. "Jean what did you ever see in that guy?"

"I've been asking myself that same question for a long time now." Jean replied.

"What did you ever see in that girl, Dunc?" Taryn asked.

"She was hot…" he said then really thought about that. "But not as hot as you, Taryn." he added nervously; she smiled.

Within about ten minutes they arrived at Bayville High, parked in the student lot, and headed into the building.

"S'up, man?" Steve said, doing a little handshake with Duncan.

Brandon and Dunc slapped hands. "Hey." he said.

"Did you see the game last night?" Steve asked with a grin.

Brandon stomped his foot. "Oh yeah - Nash was on! Did you see those shots? He sank 'em all!"

"Yeah, yeah, he just got lucky." Steve waved his hands in front of him.

"Naw, man, he's the man! Am I right, Dunc?"

"Yeah…" Duncan wasn't paying too much attention to the conversation, his focus was actually on one banged-up mutant. "Yo. Drake!" he called, hands cupped around mouth.

Bobby didn't hear him, nor would he have acknowledged him if he did. Duncan snickered a bit as he pushed his way through the crowd to get to Bobby, but out of nowhere, Mr. Reynolds, walked in front of him.

"Reynolds, uh, good morning…" Duncan said, surprised.

"Mr. Matthews, I wanted to talk to you about your lab in biology and-" he started however the bell rang, putting a halt to that business. "Well, it appears that time is not on our side right now. I'll talk to you third hour."

Duncan nodded nervously and ran off to class. "Am I in trouble?" he pondered to himself as he stepped foot inside the structure.

First hour was cake. Physical Education class. It was like recess for him. They played football and he tackled Summers so hard, he and his friends laughed about that one for a good long while.

About thirty minutes into his second hour calculus class he became weary of the confusing symbols in the work packet. "Glad that coach talked the teacher into passing me." he thought with a quiet chuckle. He yawned and stretched his arms to the side before resting his head and arms on his desk.

In what felt like a few minutes, his head shot up, startled, as the bell rang. He had been out for an hour. Steve laughed. "Have a nice dream?"

"I dreamt about…plants." he replied, groggy.

Steve's eyebrows raised. "Plants? You had a dream about plants?"

"Yeah- planting some kisses on Taryn." he quickly recovered.

Steve grabbed his things and walked away mouthing. "O…k."

Duncan stood up, lackadaisically, and walked off to enjoy lunch.

In the cafeteria, Bobby was sitting at one of the tables, in front of him was a bag of white chocolate- covered pretzels as he held one in front of his face.

"If ya don't mind me askin' - what's with you an' those things?" Sam asked, with an intrigued gaze.

Jubes set her tray across from his on the other side of the table, next to Amara. "It really is weird, I think the white chocolate makes Bobby mellow."

"Maybe it's because it reminds him so much of himself?" Roberto said, cackling, sitting down next to Rahne.

"Very funny, I'd laugh if my ribs weren't bruised severely." Jubes said with sarcastic face.

Bobby stared at the pretzel, deeply. "Joke if you must, Robbie, but something about their subtle salty sweetness seduces me…" he said, examining the pretzel between his thumb and index finger. "Huh." He popped it into his mouth.

Jubes grabbed the bag. "What is in this stuff?" She started reading the ingredients when the bag was snatched from her by Brandon.

He mock-read it. "Enriched flour, riboflavin, and, oh, not intended for mutie trash." he said, throwing it to the ground and stomping on it. "Oops, sorry, were you eating that?"

They all glared at him but restrained themselves. Duncan and Steve walked over and stood next to Brandon. "So, I hear you freaks got into brawl - looks like you were on the wrong side of a beating." Steve stated.

Bobby tapped his girlfriend on the hand. "See Jubes, I told you at least two of his senses were functional."

"Common, not being one of 'em - I guess I owe you ten bucks, Bobby."

"Hey, shut up you…"

"Mutie?" Roberto said, standing up. "Because if that was the next word out of your mouth you're not hurting us with it because that's what _we _are. Mutants."

"Also, according to the news, one of you is a murderer." Duncan said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Roberto sat back down, the mutants grew silent, hanging their heads. "So it is true." Duncan said. "And I'm branching out here and saying that it was one of the freaks that ain't here right now." he turned to Brandon. "Who isn't here?"

"The hot blonde chick, the dude with the crazy hair…and that dope who tried to pick a fight with you a few times." he replied.

Tabitha had badly sprained her ankle and hurt her collar bone while Ray had broken his writing hand and milked it to get the day off.

"You have such a way with words." Jubes said.

"I thought it was poetic." Bobby added.

"No one murdered anyone." Amara snapped, in a rare display of anger. "Marc was trying to-"

"Oh! So it was that Marc guy. Couldn't say it surprises me. He was always such a violent guy." Duncan said, a smug smile plastered on his face.

"He didn't do it on purpose-" she started again but stopped as she felt Rahne put her hand on hers and shook her head. "No! I'm not going to let them call Marc a killer just because-"

"He killed someone?" Brandon said, finishing her sentence.

Steve looked at Amara then at the others. "Is he in jail?"

"He should be." Duncan added.

"Problem, boys?" Lance asked, walking over to them.

"None of your beeswax, Alvers." Steve said.

Roberto scoffed. "Glad to see someone has been studying up on their kindergarten comebacks."

"Shut it, Alvers, this doesn't concern you." Brandon said.

"Leave 'em alone, Duncan...and friends." he said.

"Aye, doncha have some milk money ta pilfer?" Rahne asked.

Duncan looked infuriated. "I'll just leave you freaks to chat about your murdering buddy." he said, taking a deep breath. "C'mon, guys." he said, walking away as his little gang followed.

"Look at them…they're like lemmings." Bobby said.

Lance watched them leave. "If we're lucky they'll be heading for a cliff - you guys okay?"

Amara nodded. "Yeah. We're fine. Thanks."

"What did he mean by that 'murdering buddy' stuff and why do you all look like you were in a train wreck?" Lance asked, not really showing any sign of caring, just curiosity.

"Long story." Sam said, eating some of his pizza.

Bobby nodded once, with tiny bandages all over his face. "Involves lies, betrayal, and a vampire…"

"Yeah. Pretty boring stuff." Roberto put in.

"Someone died." Jubes said, quietly and seriously.

Lance's eyes looked a little widened by that. A certain little Kitty came to mind first. He hadn't seen her all day. "Oh God…" he breathed.

"We really didn't know 'er." Sam said; Lance looked relieved by that statement. It was not Kitty.

"Who was it?" Lance asked.

"Like the farm boy said: it's a long story." Roberto restated.

"Not really something we want to talk about right now." Jubes said. "Thanks for getting rid of those jerks."

"No problem…" Lance said, walking back to the Brotherhood table in the back of the cafeteria.

"That was, dare I say, nice of him to get rid of Duncan." Amara said, surprised by Lance's behavior.

"Or two enemies with a common enemy?" Roberto said.

Jubes looked a him, kindly. "That was very profound, Roberto."

He chuckled his words. "I know, I was working on it while they were talking."

Jubes and Amara sighed, rolling their eyes.

Meanwhile, in the hallway…

Steve grunted. "Alvers, what is his problem?"

Duncan suddenly had a flushed feeling come over him, his eyes felt warm and his body felt frail.

"It's like my dad said: muties stick together like a flock of sheep."

"Exactly- wait, what?" Steve was perplexed.

"You know a flock of sheep? It's like a flock of geese or a murder of crows." Brandon said as he and Steve walked on as Duncan slowed behind them. He bumped into Rogue and he collapsed to the ground, gasping, eyes wide.

Rogue didn't pay much attention until she heard his strangled gasp on the floor. She did a double take then ran over to him. "Duncan, stand up ya big baby." she snapped and turned to walk away but realized something was wrong. "Duncan…?"

Steve turned around and saw Duncan writhing on the ground slowly with Rogue over him. "Duncan!" he said then sneered at Rogue. "What did you do to him?"

Rogue recoiled. "Ah…Ah…didn't mean to…" she stuttered, terrified.

"You zapped him, didn't you!" Brandon shouted, pushing Rogue out of the way as he and Steve ran over. "Duncan, you okay, man?" he said, slapping Duncan's cheek.

Steve got up and walked at Rogue with hatred in his eyes. "Look what you did, freak! I'm gonna have to-"

Scott stepped in between Steve and Rogue. "What are you going to do, hit her?"

"Stow it, Summers, you saw what she did!" Steve yelled, everyone in the hallways looking on at the event occurring.

"Scott…Ah didn't mean to-" Rogue blubbered; Kitty came over to her and put an arm around her, being careful not to touch her skin.

Jean handed Scott's keys to Kitty. "Kitty, maybe you should take Rogue home."

"Okay…" she said, helping Rogue up and walking toward the exit to the parking lot.

The nurse came running over to Duncan's side. "Help me lift him." she said and three students helped her lift him up and carry him to her office.

They set him on one of the cushioned beds, she checked his pulse; it was fine. Duncan had stopped moving around and he laid there calm.

Rogue and Kitty walked through the exit and over to Scott's car. Remy was watching from the shadows behind the thick bushes in the corner. He stepped out with a disconcerted gaze at the panicked look on Rogue's face.

He walked over to her slow, his dark brown trench coat flowing behind him as he walked. "Chere?" he called, concerned, when she didn't answer he turned to Kitty. "Se que survenir à son?"

"I'm failing French." Kitty said, helping Rogue into the passenger's seat.

Remy sighed. "What happen' ta her?"

"No clue - she bumped into this guy in there and their skin must have touched." she said, turning around with him and walking a short distance away from the car, out of earshot from Rogue. "She thinks she hurt him. Badly."

"I'm sure it wasn't wit' malice." he retorted, his thick Cajun accent ever present.

"I'm not saying it was."

He sighed heavily, regaining his composure. "Pardon, Chaton."

"It's okay, Remy. We just need to get her out of here just in case things get ugly."

"Dis town? Ugly?" he said with a scoff, getting into the backseat of the car. "Never."

Kitty slid into the driver's side, started the car, and pulled out of the spot, then the lot. "How are you feeling, Rogue?" she asked.

"Shaken a bit - not stirred." she said, panting delicately. "It ain't like it usually is…"

"Huh?" Remy wondered.

Rogue held her head. "Ah dunno…Ah don' got any of his thoughts bubblin' around in mah brain."

Kitty sighed and nodded. "As can be expected. After all Duncan _is _the drainee."

"Naw, it ain't that way…I don't have anything." she said.

Remy ran his hand up and down her covered arm, comfortingly. "Mon chere, what're ya sayin'?"

"Ah didn't absorb him at all. He couldn't have touched mah skin." she drawled.

"T'ank Dieu! Ya scared Remy dere fo' a minute."

Kitty smiled but recalled that the issue wasn't resolved. "Then what happened to Duncan?"

Back in the nurse's office…

Duncan had been out for over an hour, his third period class was almost over. Students in their senior year only had classes up to their third hour.

Ms. Hu, the nurse, picked up the phone and was in the process of dialing when the sound of a groan and the ruffling of plastic sheets turned her attention. She hung up the phone and walked over to Duncan who was now awake.

"Duncan, are you okay?" she asked, sticking a thermometer in his mouth, under his tongue.

"Rime frine." His words were garbled and mumbled.

"Did you just swear at me?" she accused.

"Roh." he replied. He looked irritated as he took the thermometer out of his mouth and tossed it on a table. "No…and I'm fine."

"Do you know what happened to you?" she asked, putting her hand to his cheek to feel if he had a temperature.

He raised a brow. "Yeah…it felt like I got a blood rush to my head and then just dizzy…now I'm here."

"Was this before or after the mutant student attacked you?" Principal Kelly said, walking in, and taking a seat in a chair near Duncan's bed.

"Principal Kelly? I was attacked?"

"Yes. By the girl named Rogue. She employed her _gifts _to render you unconscious." Kelly explained and Duncan's mind was trying to process this. "I placed a call to the Xavier Institute, she is expelled from school as of tod-"

"No she didn't." Duncan stated.

"What did you say?"

"I was out of it before I even saw her- like she could even take me down anyways." he boasted, adding a scoff for effect.

Jean sighed, standing out of sight just to the left of the doorway. She turned to Scott next to her. "It looks like Duncan is back to his timid self again."

"What are you talking about? He's just as- oh right…sarcasm. Gotcha." he said after she gave him an "oh come on" look.

Jean offered a small smile and gave Scott a quick kiss on the lips. "Now let's get home. Logan is waiting for us in his truck - he really doesn't like waiting."

"You'd think the guy could just put in a Blues Travelers cd and relax." he said, making an outward gesture with his hands as they walked outside.

She smiled, nudging him with her shoulder, giggling.

Duncan sat at down on the edge of the bed in the nurse's office. Kelly looked at him in disbelief. "Are you absolutely certain?"

"YES," he said with a mocking chuckle. "I was _certain _the first two times you asked."

"Well, it looks as if I have a call to make apologizing to Professor Xavier about this ordeal." he stated, latent residual regret in his tone. "Ms. Hu, let me know when you figure out what caused this." he said.

"Yes, sir." she said; he took his leave. She pulled the chair Kelly was in so it was in front of Duncan, a few feet away. "Did you feel nauseous at all?"

"Not really."

"How about now?"

"No…" he replied, slowly.

"Did you eat lunch today?"

"No." he answered. "Oh! But I had a big breakfast."

"I see…" she said, patting her hand on his leg. She stood up and shut the door then came and sat back down. "Now, Duncan, I want you not to think about me as the school nurse, but as a peer."

"A pear?"

"No I said _peer_."

"Oh. Weird. Okay."

"So, I'm not asking you this as a faculty member." she said, scooting her chair over to him. "When you passed out today…was it because you had been smoking weed?" she said with a look that could not be described.

Duncan was silent for a moment and broke into laughter. "I'm clean."

She scooted back away. "Okay then…but remember you can tell me…I'm cool." she said.

He chuckled quietly and nodded. "Yeah, okay, I will."

She stood, plucked a tissue out of the box and used it to pick up the thermometer, then walked back over to her desk. "So, I'll just call your parents and have them pick you up, okay?"

"No…I'm fine to get home on my own." he replied. "Anyway, my folks are probably not home right now - they had to pick up my physical results from my doctor."

"They don't have cell phones?" she asked, somewhat shocked.

Duncan shook his head, reluctantly. "Pops always says that they'll give you radiation and turn you into a mutie freak."

Ms. Hu gave him a slightly disturbed look that went unnoticed by Duncan. "Oh, before I forget, Mr. Reynolds asked me to sent you to his classroom if you were feeling better."

"Cool. I'll go see what he wants." Duncan said, standing. He looked into an examination mirror and fixed his hair. "He say what he wanted?"

"No…he just told me to have you head down to his room if you were up to it." Ms. Hu replied.

"Okay, see ya." he said, sliding on his jacket and exiting out of the nurse's office.

Ms. Hu looked like she was expecting something. "Oh, thank you, Ms. Hu for not letting me die on the floor in the hallway and keeping me in your office even though I snore. You're the best nurse ever." she said, as if she were Duncan. "All in a days work, young man. You're welcome." she replied as herself.

Duncan made it about halfway to his destination before Taryn jumped at him and hugged him. "I was worried about you."

"Really, why?…it's kinda stupid." he said, not hugging her back. There were too many people around for him to do that; he had a reputation to maintain.

"Well…I thought Rogue had nearly killed you." she replied.

He chuckled. "Hell no, like that would have happened."

"It could have, Duncan." she said, angrily; he just scoffed. She smacked him. "Do you even care how I would have felt if you died?"

"Geez, why would you care so much, Taryn?"

"Would you care if I died right now!"

"Well…I'd be sad, I guess, but it wouldn't be the saddest thing ever."

"I would have lost two boyfriends in a year: one turned out to be a mutant and then you were almost killed by one." She slapped him and stormed away.

"Oh, c'mon! Don't be like that." he called after her, holding his cheek. "Taryn, baby, come on." he added as she stomped out of sight. "Damn." he sighed. "There goes my ride home."

He continued down the hallway until he reached Mr. Reynold's room. He knocked. "Yo, Mr. Reynolds, you here still?"

"Come in, Matthews." he said, erasing his chalkboard.

Duncan entered and saw him in his suit, now covered in chalk dust. "I hear you wanted to see me…or something?"

Mr. Reynolds was about sixty-four, ashy brown thinning hair, and wrinkles on his face. He did look younger than his age suggested however, he was very well educated and had a certain nobility to him. "Yes…about your lab."

"Am I in trouble…?"

"No, no, Duncan. Quite the opposite actually." Mr. Reynolds stated. "Do you remember last Friday in my class…all of you students began working on a seed lab?"

Duncan nodded.

"As you know, one seed was supposed to go without water and be put in a freezer and the other was to be watered and put in a dark cabinet." he said, pointing to two samples sitting on his desk. They were both about seven days along in terms of growth. "Imagine my surprise when I saw your lab."

"Those are mine?"

"Yes, they are both halfway grown in only four days. How did you do it?"

Duncan looked at his seeds in confusion. "Honest to God? I have no idea."

Mr. Reynolds chuckled. "It appears you have a green thumb, Duncan Matthews." he stated, smiling. "But enough for now, I'll let you go home and rest - you've had a long and daunting day. I'll see you tomorrow." he said, moving the specimens back into their proper locations.

"Yeah, see ya." Duncan said, leaving the classroom to find someone to give him a ride home.

He walked out into the parking lot and looked around when he heard a loud sigh. He turned his head and saw Taryn sitting on the back of her car. "Taryn?" he said, walking a little closer. "That you?"

She rolled her eyes. "Duh."

"I thought you were angry at me?"

"I am!"

"Taryn, you know how much I like you. I'm sorry for what I said - I think I was still a little mixed up 'cause of the spill I took earlier."

She turned away as he took a few steps towards her. "I don't know…"

"I'm sorry, I mean it…I am." He put his arms around her waist and kissed her. "Forgive me?"

She bit her lip, squeezed her eyes shut and groaned. "Get in the car." she said with a smile.

Back at the Institute…

Kitty and Remy got Rogue to their room. Remy waited outside the door.

"Are you sure you're okay, Rogue?" asked Kitty, sitting on her bed looking over at Rogue on her own bed.

"Yeah…Ah feelin' a lot betta." she said, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "Ah wanted ta say thanks, Kitty."

Kitty smiled. "You're, like, my best friend…no need for thanks. I know you'd do the same for me." she explained.

"How about you?" Rogue asked.

She raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

"How are you doing?" clarified Rogue.

"I'm, uh…I'm fine." she replied, avoiding eye contact because Rogue had the uncanny ability to tell when Kitty lied.

Remy opened the door and Xavier rolled into the room, Remy shutting the door behind him.

"Kitty, I need to have a word with Rogue." he said, releasing the small joystick that he held down to move the chair.

Kitty, taking the hint, grabbed her laptop, and left the room. Remy opened the door for her. "Have you ever considered being a doorman, Remy?"

"Very funny." he mordantly stated, shutting the door.

Kitty gave him a sly smile as she walked down the hall, and turned when she reached the rec-room. She walked over to the couch and set the laptop on her lap, flipping the top up and starting it up.

Tabitha limped by and saw Kitty in the room. She was going to hobble right on by but she noticed a small tear going down her face. She ambled over to her and sat down. "Are you okay?"

She quickly wiped the tear, smearing it down her cheek. "I don't know why people keep asking me that." she said with a loud sniffle.

"Lemme guess, boy troubles?"

"No…"

"Kitty, it's ineluctable…you have to talk about it." Tabby said, putting her hand over her left breast, her collar bone obviously feeling some irritation in that position. She leaned back slowly, putting her ankle up on the coffee table. "You're not maudlin…and I'm not here to exacerbate things…but you need to converse with me about this."

"Are you trying to astonish me with sesquipedalian words, Tabby?" she asked.

"No…" she said, immediately. "Okay, yeah."

"Have you been, like, reading that dictionary in your room?" inquired Kitty.

"It's either that or limp on down to the land of Nod." replied Tabitha. "Listen, Kitty, I can tell when something is wrong."

Kitty closed her computer, set it on the coffee table and looked at her. "I really don't want to talk about it."

"What's to talk about? Marc left without saying goodbye on your anniversary, he hasn't called once." Tabby said.

"I'm worried about him…I'm worried about how he's feeling."

She raised a brow. "Are you worried about his feelings…or his feelings for you?" she said, a silence falling afterwards, Tabby hit a chord with Kitty.

Kitty squinted, angrily. "Was he ashamed of me or himself so much that he could tell me - I could have helped. But, no, he wanted to leave me out so he could be alone with _her_!"

"…or he just didn't want you to get hurt?"

"He probably didn't want me to find out about Marcia! That jerk."

"…or he just didn't want you see what he was?" Tabby sighed.

"Whose side are you on? Mine…or _his_?"

"Since when did this become sides?" Tabitha said. "Kitty, I'm not trying to say you're wrong here…but c'mon…why would Marc want to hurt you? He cares the world for you - when you walked in on that kiss he was planning to give you a gift. The gift he worked more than a few little jobs and saved up for the past few weeks to pay for it." she added.

Kitty crossed her arms over her chest heatedly. "Yeah, well…shut up!" she said, turning away from her.

"Kitty-"

"I know! I…know." she said with a sigh. "I needed to vent."

"You think." said Tabby, rolling her eyes. "I'm sure Marc will be back soon."

"Yeah." Kitty said, submissively. Tabby looked at her and smiled. Kitty tried to turn away but Tabs just leaned over and smiled brightly. Kitty couldn't help but smile.

Tabby smirked. "See, smiling does make you feel better."

Kitty smiled. "You were right."

"And recognition makes _me _feel better."

She stood and picked up her computer. "I'm going to go out into the garden and relax…oh and thanks, Tabitha." she added, starting to walk away.

"Watch the sky…I heard it was supposed to rain later."

Kitty appeared to be in thought for a moment. "Okay."

"Kitty, wait." Tabitha called after her.

She stopped in the doorway. "Hmm?"

"Could you turn on the tube please?" she asked, sweetly, obviously trying to get what she wanted.

Kitty sighed. "Yes, but only because you helped me." she stated, turning on the television and leaving the room. The show that faded in on the screen turned out to be the children's show "Blue's Clues".

Tabitha raised a brow. "Kitty, wait…could you change the station? Kitty? Kitty, I refuse to watch Blue's Clues! Kitty? Kitty?" she called, loudly.

Kitty couldn't hear her at all.

"I will not watch you come back here and change the station." she said.

All of a sudden, she spotted the remote, it was on the coffee table by her foot. She stretched for it but her wounds refused to comply.

Tabby tried a few times to get it. "Almost…there…" she said, giving one last reach for it but exhaled and fell back into the cushions. "Oh the hell with it." she added, giving up and just watched the show.

Meanwhile, Taryn and Duncan were pulling up to the curb at his house.

"Thanks for the ride." he said and they kissed. "I'm going to make what happened earlier up to you. I'll take you out this Saturday for a nice lunch at McDonalds, okay?" he said.

"Sure." she said, inwardly rolling her eyes. Not literally though, that would hurt. "See you tomorrow. Call me later, okay?"

"You got it, babe." he said with a smile and got out of the car with his backpack strap in his hand. Duncan gave a wave and headed for the side of his house, entering through the side entrance and closed the screen door behind him.

"Mom, I'm home…" No one answered. "…Mom…Dad?" he added, a bit worried.

He left the living room, went down the hallway, then strolled into the kitchen. Sighing in relief, seeing his mother and father in this room. Sally was fixing a sandwich, undoubtedly meant for him, and Joe was sitting at the table with four empty bottles of beer and working on a fifth.

"Sit down, sweetie." Sally said and Duncan complied. Sally walked over to the counter, picked up the plate with the bologna sandwich on it, and brought it over, setting it in front of him.

"Thanks." he said with a smile.

"A growing boy needs to eat." she said.

Joe set down his beer bottle with nothing left in it but the froth and foam. "We got your physical results back from Dr. Zink while you were in classes." he said, his voice void of emotion.

"Yeah? I'm not taking any drugs I don't know about, am I?" Duncan asked, jokingly, taking a bite of his sandwich.

Joe looked at Sally and Sally looked back pleadingly but he would have nothing of it. Duncan was oblivious to any of this.

"No. No drugs or alcohol." Sally said, forcing a smile that almost dwindled instantly. "You're a good boy, Duncan. A very good boy…" she added, turning her back to them and sobbing.

Duncan looked over at her, agape. "Mom?" he said, worried. He stood up and walked over to her. "What's wrong?" he asked. She walked away from him. "Dad, what's wrong with Mom?" he asked, not looking back at his dad. "Dad…?"

"You're what's wrong…" stated Joe, bitterly.

"Wha-" Duncan started to say but as he turned around he felt a numbing shock in his kidney region. He fell back, knocking his chair over as he tried desperately to reach for something to hold on to. His plate shattered as it crashed on the ground, along with some silverware, and the waxed fruit centerpiece.

Duncan looked up and saw his father standing over him with a taser in his hand.

"You and your kind are what's wrong!" Joe snarled, tasing his son's leg. Sally turned away with a gasp/whimper, not being able to look any longer.

"Ahhh!" Duncan cried out in a mixed tone. "Dad! What the fu- Ahhh!" he groaned, being tased in the ribs mid-sentence.

Joe kicked his ribs. "How long did you think you'd play us for fools?"

Sally was sobbing loudly. Joe kicked Duncan again and pointed to Sally. "Look what you're doing to your mother!"

"What- what're you talking about?!"

Joe glare was full of rage and centered on his son. "I'm talking about the friggen Wizard of Oz- what the hell do you think I'm talking about, ya filthy mutant?"

"Mutant?" he grunted, clutching his side, his voice nearly absent of breath. "Dad, you're…" he meekly stated, vainly trying to crawl away.

"That doesn't change nothin'." Joe replied, going to tase him once more. Duncan kicked the taser out of his hand and quickly got up off the ground. He had to lean against the wall to keep from toppling over.

Joe walked forward slowly. "That physical told us more that you wanted us to know…"

Duncan was in a furious amount of confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Your blood's dirtied, Duncan. You're a damn mutie!" he snapped. "I didn't want to believe it…I had three doctors make sure…you were probably using your mutie mind trick things."

"Dad- I'm not a Jedi…" he said, weakly.

"You're dead to me."

"I'm your son-"

"You're not my son!" Joe shouted. "My son is not a freak! My son is a normal boy! You are not my son…you're just something that shouldn't exist!"

Duncan's eyes widened, this statement was painful, irking his most sorrowful emotions.

Joe picked up a beer bottle. "I should beat the mutie outta you right now!"

Duncan moved to the side a little, trying to back away but his back was to the wall in more ways than one.

"JOE!" Sally cried.

"SHUT IT!" retorted Joe, swiping the table causing the other beer bottles to fly at her. She luckily got out of the way of the one that was soaring at her head but the other one broke against her arm. "Sally…?" he said, realizing what he had done and walking over to his wife. He gave a fierce look at Duncan. "DUNCAN!" he roared once more. "Look at what you did!" With an accusing glare, he snapped.

She gave Duncan a look from the corner of her eye, telling him to run while he had the chance. Tears were welling in his eyes, he couldn't go. He and his mother shared a unspoken language of feeling and thoughts. She closed her eyes. "Run." she whispered.

Duncan blew past his father, shoving him to the side, opening and running out the door. The beer bottle nearly missing his head as it shattered against the wall after his father threw it. Duncan tripped outside over a lawn gnome. "Damn gnome!" he growled, forcing himself to his feet.

He ran over to his car. No keys. He was not going back inside so he ran. Ran down the street past the corner gas station and continued running, tears pouring down his cheeks. He ran at least a mile and a half before he felt he was relatively out of harm's way. He slowed down his pace as he realized where he was. He was in a pretty bad part of town now.

He put his hands in his jean pockets and lowered his head; it was best to not make eye contact here. He heard some grunting and shouting from an alley he was passing. He couldn't help but look. He saw a teenager with somewhat green-scaly skin being beaten by two guys. "This'll teach ya to look at my sister." one of the guys cackled, stomping a mud hole in the mutants chest.

Duncan quickly looked away as the mutant pleadingly looked at him. He just kept walking. The data in his head needed processing. He was a mutant. Doesn't seem like it could be hard to come to terms with but he had no clue how it happened. "I've never had unprotected sex, I never shot any needles, I've never used a cell phone but once…" he thought to himself. "I bet it was that one time…I told Taryn that we should just wait to use the payphone, but NOOO-"

"Duncan, yo!" Steve said, pulling up in with Brandon and Jason, the running back of the football team. Steve was driving his dad's blue Plymouth GTX convertible, it was very nice. "What are you doing on this side of town, Dunc?"

Jason got out and walked to him. "Geez, you look like hell. I'm surprised, I heard you got your beauty sleep earlier."

"Home trouble." Duncan muttered.

"I'll take you to Taryn's place. Want a ride, man?" asked Steve.

Brandon nodded. "Yeah, it's starting to sprinkle now." He furthered his evidence by collecting droplets on his outstretched palm.

Hardly moving his head, Duncan looked up at the dark clouds gathering above. "I don't have much of a choice."

"Should have brought a poncho." Jason said, reaching into the backseat of the car and pulling out a potato sack.

"I must have forgot mine at school…" he chuckled, about to get in the car. Out of the blue, Jason pulled the sack over Duncan's head and tightened it so he couldn't see. Duncan suddenly felt a clobbering blow to his back, the clobbering blow of a baseball bat. He fell forward, smashing his head into the door of the car.

"Watch the paint job." Steve said, chuckling as Brandon was about ready to hit him again.

Jason stopped him from taking that swing. "Sure, draw more attention."

Brandon nodded and tossed the bat in the backseat. "You're right, help me pick him up."

"One…two…" Jason grunted. Duncan was very nearly out of it. After today he was barely able to struggle or even fight back as the two guys grunted while lifting him. "Pop the trunk. Pop the trunk!" he added.

Steve opened the trunk by the push of a button. "Chill, Jay."

They loaded their former friend into the trunk, making sure that Duncan hit his head on the side. Jason got into the backseat.

Brandon looked at Duncan in the dirty trunk, barely moving, and chuckled. He slammed the trunk shut and slapped his palms down on the trunk hatch. "Hope you're comfortable!" he crowed, jumping into the passenger side door. "Go, go, go." he added and Steve put the pedal to the metal and they screeched off as the top of the car now converted to stop the rain from getting in..

Duncan was fading slowly, though it was dark in the trunk it seemed his head trauma was willing him to sleep. But just when his eyelids were about to shut they shot open, he was forcing himself to stay conscious and he was struggling.

He listened to their conversation, that was his only link to consciousness. He used their chatter to keep himself going. It felt like an eternity in that dank trunk, the rain coming down a bit heavier now, dripping onto the frame and into the trunk. Soon the car stopped moving.

"Duncan, how are you doing, buddy?" Jason said with a smirk, opening the door and getting out of the car along with the others. They all walked to the back of the vehicle and Steve unlocked the trunk with the key.

Brandon opened the hatch and Duncan dove out at them but Steve caught him and slammed him to the ground hard. "Whoa, hold on, Dunc…you're gonna miss the best part." he said.

Brandon and Steve dragged Duncan by his arms across the asphalt, his knees scraping on the hard blacktop, shredding his denim jeans. They pulled him up on the sidewalk and threw him on the green grass. Jason chuckled and removed the sack from Duncan's head roughly, scraping his face with the coarse material. "Hey freak!"

Duncan looked around, he didn't recognize this place. It was a medium sized area covered in grass and the rain made the ground muddy. "How…" was all Duncan could muster.

"Well, you know, your dad is against cells…I'm not." Steve scoffed, putting his cell phone in Duncan's face. On the screen of the phone it said: _"Recent calls: The Matthews House" _and Duncan snickered. "Yeah, Dunc…I talked to your dad." he snapped, pushing Duncan into the mud. The dirty, mucky, water splattered up onto Duncan's jacket and face.

"Guys, we're friends." stated Duncan. "Brandon…I knew you since first grade."

Brandon shook his head at him. "I used to look up to you, man." he declared, picking him up and punching him in the gut.

Jason kept him from falling over then punched him in the face. "Yeah, your pop told us how you attacked your mom!" he said, punching him in the face again, bloodying up Duncan's nose.

Duncan had a dazed look of confusion on his wet face, the blood from his nose mixing with the rain. "I didn't…"

"I can't believe you turned mutie…how could you?!" shouted Steve. "We played on the football team together, you were the MVP two years in a row and you…" he trailed off, kicking him in the ribs rapidly. "You…threw it all away!"

Duncan rolled away a bit.

Jason walked over to him and pulled him up to his knees. "You are a disgrace to those MVP awards." he said, pointing to the patch on his sleeve then ripping the sleeve of his jacket so it was almost completely pulled out from its stitching.

The sky had turned black now, few stars could be seen through the light pollution and rain clouds. The stars were not meant for this night, for this night was one fitting for a downfall.

Walking back to the car and getting the bat, Brandon walked back over to the mutant. He raised the wooden club and struck down at Duncan, hitting him in the top of his back.

He let out a muffled, mangled cry as he laid on his stomach. "Arrgh!" He dug his fingers into the mud, using the ground as a sort of stress ball. His eyes turned a bright shade of jade and all of his veins began flowing with what looked to be forest green blood.

Brandon was about to clobber him again just as he noticed the huge tree behind Duncan began to shake a bit. "What the…"

The ground quaked some. Brandon dropped his bat. Steve looked at them, hiding his panic. "I think he's had enough." he stated, trying to slowly back up but the tremors made him flop into the mud.

Jason nodded violently. "Yeah, let's get out of here!"

He quickly got back up but the other two had already begun running back to the Plymouth. "Wait…WAIT!" he shouted, running to the car. Ignoring their muddy and wet shoes and clothes they all got in. "My dad's gonna kill me…" he said, taking off as fast as he could.

Duncan glared ferociously, grinding his teeth and narrowing his eyes as his breath labored. His grip on the ground was slowly becoming less and less until he collapsed completely. In a few moments his eyes went back to normal and his veins did the same. He pushed his upper body up but his lower half didn't want to comply. "Errr…" he groaned.

It took him a few minutes to finally get up; he wobbled over to the lonely street. He hobbled downed the center of the road for about a half an hour. Not knowing where to go, not having a place to go to. No one to help, no one to care. He was alone now. With no other sounds, the pattering of the rain became mesmerizing.

He could not go on any longer. He dropped to his knees.

Duncan Matthews: Jock, stud, captain of the football team, the most popular guy in school. Here. On his knees, defeated, his nose bloodied and his letterman's jacket shoulder nearly torn off and muddy. The cold, pouring, rain beating down on him in the darkness of the night. His only light being that of the pale moon which reflected in the rippling puddles that covered the ground.

Duncan pulled himself to the curb and onto the sidewalk, laying flat out on his back as the rain blurred his eyes. His abdomen moving up and down quickly as he panted.

He sat up, straining himself to his knees, weakly. Dragging himself up with the aid of a gate and the crevices in the brick wall they were attached to, he grabbed onto a plaque that was mounted on the wall to get to his base.

His entire body was beaten and bruised, his clothes, muddy and drenched. The now deafening rain that ensconced him made his footing slippery. He looked up, his soaked hair matted against his forehead, beads of water flowing down into his eyes, slightly blinding him.

He rubbed his eyes to clear his vision.

His eyes softened.

He, Duncan Matthews, was standing at the gates of The Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters.

* * *

Please Review. 


	45. Whisper a Song

Disclaimer: See previous disclaimer. I only own the song.

A.p.R. - Sorry, I've taken too long to update…I'm going to work on that. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I really enjoyed writing "All Good Things" and I think it's some of my best work. I'm very proud of it and most importantly I'm proud that you all liked it so much. Thanks.

(I can't believe I'm shoot Alfred Molina)

Marc sat on a hard wooden chair at a glass table in the coffee shop. His head was hung low and he appeared to be hurting still. The hot chocolate in the cup before him steamed as he took a sip.

There was a woman on the performance stage, average height, blonde hair, blue eyes, wearing a black nylon dress. She sat on a stool with a microphone stand and her acoustic guitar resting on her far knee and held by her left hand, tuning it.

Ororo walked back over to the table with Marc, setting her cappuccino down as she sat. "Are you sure you want to go through with this tomorrow, child?"

"Yes." he replied in a marginally dark tone.

"Hear me, Marc, you so appear to be-"

"Sad? Depressed? Feeling like the only way this could be worse is if Michael Moore edited it?"

"You and I are not so different, you know, Marc?"

He scoffed. "Oh?"

"I watched my parents die, I was left with little money and had to turn to a life of crime…"

"Oh…" he said, his eyes taking on a softer look.

"That was all before I met a man named Charles Xavier. He turned my life around. Took me in. Taught me to be all that I can be-"

"Did he enlist you for the Army?"

"Weak joke."

"Sorry…I'm sorry." he said, a low sigh echoing in his throat. "I didn't mean to make it sound like I-"

"Marc, I know you've been through a lot, but you have to know we're here for you." she said, putting her hand atop his. "You are like family- no- you _are _family." She smiled, receiving a small smile from him. "Do you know that?"

"Well, I just…"

"Do you know it, Marc?"

He put his hand on her hand. "Yes. I do. It's me I guess - ever since my parents…were taken…I haven't been the same. When Xavier did his mental voodoo on me…it felt hollow." he said, quietly. "Hollow inside. It felt good too. Good…but too easy, you know? I felt like I didn't cope…and now, Marcia's…gone and I feel the flood gates open again."

"Mutant healing factor or not, those wounds will never heal." she said, putting her hand softly on his chest.

"The doctor says it's just a strained collarbone…"

"You know what I mean. Those wounds are wounds upon your soul…they'll be with you until the day you die."

Marc smiled and looked deeply into her eyes, gripping her hand a little tighter. "Ororo…has anyone ever told you that…you have…the worst pep-talks ever?"

Ororo sighed. "I'm telling you the truth."

"Ms. Munroe, I know…I've known." he said, his piercing hazel eyes staring right into Ororo's. "It's going to be really hard to stand up in front of her family and lie to all their faces. Watching them hurt like that- knowing I can't do a thing to help them." he said with a sniffle. "I can't stand to see people hurting…"

"Hey, folks…I'm Whisper." The blonde woman on stage announced with a warm, inviting smile. "Most of you know me since I've been performing here three days a week for the last six months." she smiled and the one spotlight the coffee house had shined on her. "I wrote this song yesterday after hearing a good friend of mind passed away."

Marc turned his chair so he would be able to watch. She strummed the strings slowly and fluently as she licked her crimson red lips. She began with her soulful, sultry, humming.

"I whisper a song

That makes the pain go away

Just for one day

Just for one day…"

She played softer now, her golden blonde hair shining in the light.

"And I

Hum to the tune

Because it's too soon

So the pain will stay

Just for one day…"

Her playing now grew harder and louder.

"I will not feel

I will not feign

Just for one day

Just for one day…" she sang, tapping her foot and closing her eyes.

"I cannot shout

I cannot say

Just for one day

One day

One day…"

She slowed her playing to a halcyon rhythm, leaning over to the microphone in the stand and almost breathing the words as she sang.

"Just for one…

Just for one…

Just for one day

I cannot shout

Just for one day

I will not feel

Why can't I sense

That this is real

All of our troubles

Just get in the way

Just for one day

Make the pain go away…

Just for one day

And so the pain will stay…

Just…for…one…

Day…" she faded out, with one last note of her guitar. The small crowd waited a moment before applauding. She smiled a small smile. "Thank you." she said. She set the guitar down, look a drink of water, and hopped off the stage.

Marc smiled warmly as he watched her walk over to the counter. "Whoa…"

Ororo smiled at Marc.

Whisper started talking to the guy at the counter and they laughed. He handed her a cup of hot chocolate and she smiled. "Thanks, Randy. You're so sweet." she said, beaming. She walked over and sat down at a table in the corner of the room.

"I'll be right back…" Marc said, sprawling off and walking over to her. He looked at her. She didn't notice so he cleared his throat.

She looked at him with a brow raised. "Ricola?"

"Bless you." he said, a little confused.

Whisper almost shot her drink out her nose as she chuckled. She smiled, reaching into the duffle bag by her chair for something. She pulled out a little cough drop and handed it to him. No…Ricola."

"Heh, oh…" He laughed nervously, taking the lozenge, unwrapping it and putting the wrapper in his pocket and the cough drop in his mouth. He was glad he got that part right. "Can I sit?"

"Oh, sure…" she replied, he sat down. "So…um, what's your name?"

He thought for a second. "Marc is me…" he stuttered, then shook his head. "My name Marc…" He took a deep breath. "Hi, I'm Marc." he said, smiling like nothing happened.

She giggled. "Hi, I'm Whisper…but you probably know that. Was there anything you wanted?"

He smiled. "Oh, yeah…I wanted to tell you that that song of yours really…touched me. I have a close friend that…passed on too. I wanted to say thank. You accidentally helped me out a lot." he said.

She looked more closely at him and noticed some cuts, scratches, and how he wasn't using his left arm that much. "What…happened to you?"

"Oh, I was attacked by a vampire and a few other super humans - no, actually I hurt myself in a motorcycle crash a couple days ago." he explained, not wanting to go into great depth.

"Wow, you look pretty good for a person who was just in a wreck." she said with an inquiring look.

"Milk: does a body good." he replied with a minor chuckle.

The owner of the place stood on the other side of the counter and tapped it, looking at Marc. "Eh, buddy, pay up."

Marc sighed. "Unfortunately, unless I want my milk udder-fresh, it costs money." he said, pulling out his wallet, his picture of Kitty falling out onto the table. He pulled three dollars and handed it to the man. "Keep the change, sir."

The owner looked at Marc for a moment with a 'you've got to be kidding me' expression. "Oh, twenty cents! Now I can retire early and move to Florida." he mocked, deadpan, as he put the money in the register.

Marc squinted at the man. Whisper picked up the picture and examined it. "Who is she?" she asked, holding the picture out to Marc.

Marc took it and smiled as he gazed at it. "That's, um…that's my girlfriend. Her names Kitty." he replied, a loving smile filled with the regret upon his face. He felt terrible about not talking to her but he did not think she would want to talk to him.

Whisper smiled at his reaction. "Kitty huh? She's pretty." she confirmed with a nod.

"Yes. Yes she is. She's gorgeous. I don't know where I'd be without her." he said, a dreamy look in his eyes.

Whisper took a drink and smiled. "Well…?"

"Well what?"

"Well have you…?"

Marc raised a brow. "Have I what? What are you talking about?"

"Have you whispered those three little words that'll make her heart go pitter-patter?"

"Oh…no." he replied. "Not yet."

She scoffed. "And why not? You sound like you are cuckoo for her."

"Cuckoo like Cocoa Puffs." he said with a smile, daydreaming about her.

"So why don't…" she trailed off, realizing he wasn't paying attention. She snapped her fingers in front of his face bringing him back to earth. "So why don't you tell her?" she pried, trying to coax him.

Marc crossed his arms over his chest, resting the lozenge on his tongue. He couldn't think of a comeback but still looked confident. "S'cause."

Whisper looked at him. "Right. I bet you're one of those guys who wants to say it but keeps telling themselves they'll do it tomorrow."

"Really?" he said, scoffing at her analysis of him.

"Really, really. Well guess what? There might not be a tomorrow." she said, kicking his shin.

"Ow!" he said, surprised by how much that hurt. "…ow…"

"What if you died in that crash. She'd never know."

"She knows."

"Some things have to be said."

"Some things don't."

"How well do you think you know how the opposite sex thinks?"

"Touché."

"So?"

"Yeah…it looks like, once again, you've helped me." Marc said with a sigh. "You are good with that."

"If my music career fails I could go into customer services."

"I said you are helpful…not annoying." he replied; they both shared a chuckle. "You're pretty cool. It's too bad we won't see each other again."

"Yeah…wait, why?"

"I live in Bayville, all the way across the country. But hey, if you're ever in town you should give me a call. I think Kitty and you would get along splendidly." he said, reaching over to the counter, grabbing a pen.

"Hey!" A customer protested, the pen being his.

Marc quickly scribbled his cell phone number on a napkin and slid it over to Whisper. The man snatched the pen away from Marc with an aggravated look; Marc smiled apologetically. The man shook his head, walking away and muttering something.

"Marc, we should be going." Ororo stated, walking over to them. She knew that they still needed to rent a suit for Marc.

"Oh. Yeah. Right." he said, just remembering. "It was nice conversing with you." he added with a smile, standing up.

"Yeah, it was." She smiled back. "I'll call you soon, Marc."

He nodded as he and Ororo walked out the door.

Ororo looked as Marc as the went to opposite sides of the white rental car. "You seem happier than earlier."

"Yup."

"Women are wise, aren't they?" she said proudly with a slight unconscious smirk.

"Oh yeah." he said, exaggeratedly.

Back in Bayville…

Duncan Matthews forced himself to move further and further, trying to get in arm's reach of the intercom. He felt his fingers touch the button. He smiled; this was the only thing that had gone right for him all day.

Suddenly he slipped, falling face first on the ground and into the bushes. He was out cold.

* * *

Once again, I wrote that song for this chapter and it's titled "Whisper a Song"

Please Review, folks. Tell me what you like or didn't like. Thanks for reading.


	46. Ashes To Ashes

Disclaimer: X-Men is owned by Marvel. This story is owned by me.

A.p.R. - Hello everyone, this is my new account name. 2nd String Hero. Well, I'm here with a new chapter and an explanation of why it's been taking so long for me to update. I've spent the last few months getting my life the way it should have been. I've gotten several people out of my life that I really needed to get away from and may more people I needed into my life. My acting career is getting really good. I've been getting a lot of experiance and making a lot of friends. My life is how is should have been. I'm happy again. Truly happy. So without further wait, I give you chapter 46 of Coming of Age.

* * *

Professor Xavier and Logan were standing in the infirmary, looking on as Hank stood over Duncan, examining him. Duncan was unconscious and shirtless, lying on the cold examining table.

"Where did you say you found him, Logan?" Dr. Hank McCoy asked, feeling Duncan's ribs for any fractures.

"In the bushing, just short of the gate; I thought he was dead. I kicked him a few times, he groaned, so I brought him in. I'll tell ya, Chuck, if I knew who he was I'd have left him." Logan explained.

The Professor, Charles Xavier, raised a brow, turning his chair to look at the gruff man. "Logan?"

"I'm just saying if all the stories are true I don't know if it's such a hot plan to keep him here." he said gruffly, crossing his arms over his broad chest.

"Would you rather have left him out there to die?" Hank asked, irritated and his mind preoccupied with other things as he checked Duncan's pupils.

Logan raised an eyebrow. "Did you hear me oppose?" he asked with a cocky smirk as Hank walked past him into the testing room.

"Logan, this is a shelter. A sanctuary…for mutants and humans alike." stated Charles. "What if we had turned Kurt away…or Marc or even you for that matter?"

Logan winced slightly at the mention of Marc. "Well, I'm gonna be right there with the 'I told you so's' when an anti-mutant mob shows up and tries to torch the institute."

"It doesn't look like we'll need to be worried about that." Hank intervened, walking back into his room with a sheet of paper in his hands.

Logan scoffed. "What're ya talkin' about, McCoy?"

"I am _talking _about this." he corrected, annoyed slightly. He pointed to the paper. "It appears that the sample of DNA I obtained from him is no different from his most recent blood test. But neither matches with one that was taken last year...most curious."

"So let me get this straight - you hacked into personal medical records, you took DNA samples off the boy, and you corrected my speech. Somebody's showin' off." Logan replied.

"I'm doing my job…" he said, smugly and intelligently. Logan growled quietly.

"Children." Xavier said, calmly and composed. He wheeled over to the two men. Logan and Hank stood down; the Professor had that kind of effect on people. "Now, Hank, what you're saying can mean only one of two things. Either someone had tampered with his blood…""

Hank nodded. "Or young Mr. Matthews is a mutant…"

There was an eerie silence, the air was tense, and both Xavier and Hank ran this through their mind.

"Well, duh." Logan stated.

"What!" Hank snapped, just unable to endure Logan bravado today.

Xavier raised a brow, directing his stare at the Canuck. "Have you known this the whole time?"

"Yeah, 'course. I could smell it on him."

"Then what was all that about 'anti-mutant mobs'?" asked Hank, shaking his head.

Logan sighed. "He hated mutants. As far as I'm concerned a leopard can't change his spots."

"Coming from you, that's ironic." Hank replied.

"Listen, don't start with me - you won't finish." he growled, moving up to Beast.

"A house divided against itself cannot stand." Xavier said, adamantly.

"Gerald Ford?" Hank queried.

"The Bible." answered Logan, knowing the question was not aimed at him.

The Professor nodded. "Yes. I expect you both to act like grown men from now on. Am I clear?"

"Crystal." Logan stated, shrugging his brown leather jacket up on his shoulders right in front of Hank before, walking out of the room.

Xavier sighed. Where was Storm when he needed her?

Meanwhile, in Arizona…

Ororo had her two bags on her bed as she was beginning to empty her drawers and

"Marc? Are you ready, child?" Ororo said, packing her clothes so that they could leave as soon as possible after the memorial service.

"Almost, Ororo." he replied, struggling with his tie. He let out a small chuckle. After all this time he still couldn't figure out how to put a tie on correctly.

She gave a small laugh.

He looked back at her with a small grin. "Something funny?"

"No offense…but you look like you're fighting off a rattle snake."

"Point being?" he asked, ready to hang himself with the darn tie if it didn't cooperate soon.

"Need help with your tie, Marc?"

"No thanks…I got it." he said, tossing it to the side and using the clip on that was hanging on the hand towel rack.

Marc looked at himself in the mirror in front of him, everything was perfect just five days ago, in five short days his world again met death. This time was different though. Now he was putting on a black suit to put to rest his first love. It was going to be hard to lie to all of Marcia's family but it was for the best. He hated lying but it was for the best.

"Meet me in the car, okay?" she said.

"Yeah…okay." he said, putting his note cards for Marcia's eulogy in his pocket and heading out to the car.

Within a half an hour they arrived at the, cemetery. The same memorial park where Marc's parents lie.

"Soy contento veníais - I'm so glad you came." Were the first words he heard as he exited the car. A Mexican woman in her early fifties walked up to him and engulfed him in a massive hug. "She would have wanted you here." she added, patting his back.

He smiled, kindly. "Mrs. Nady? Mucho gusto en conocerle."

She released their hug. "Please, call me Gloria. It's good to finally meet you too." she replied with a thick accent.

A large, broad shouldered, man walked over to the two and stopped just at the side of his wife. This was Mr. Nady. He had an ashy gray mustache and a buzz cut; he looked like he was in the marines at one point in his life.

He held out his hand. "Hello, I'm Alex…you must be, Marc." he stated, noticing the tears in his wife's eyes.

Marc shook his hand. "Sí. Soy afligido por su pérdida, Mr. Nady."

"Who's this with you?" asked Gloria, noticing Ororo walking over to them.

Marc's eyes looked back at Ororo. "Oh, that's-"

"Ororo Munroe." Ororo said holding her hand out to Gloria. Gloria hugged her anyways. Marc just smiled warmly.

"It was kind of you to come." said Alex, his voice deep and his eyes watery.

"Marc, I know it was a lot to ask of you but did you finish the eulogy?" Gloria asked, trying to keep a stiff upper lip.

"Yes…I was up all night…finishing it." he said, the tips of the cards sticking out of his pant pockets.

"Great!" she said, kissing him on the cheek. "The ceremony is going to start in a few minutes, so be ready." she said then she and Alex headed off to greet others.

"Mrs. Nady seems nice." stated Ororo to Marc.

"Yeah…we Mexican's are huggers." he replied, smiling modestly as they walked over to the reserved area.

The next fifteen minutes went by in slow motion, Marc felt like he was going to throw up. The nervousness was consuming him. Soon, it was his time.

Marc walked up four wooden steps onto the small stage, a podium in the center. There was a microphone, with stand, connected to the podium. He made his way over to the stand, holding his note cards in hand. He took a deep breath as he looked at all of the people standing before him. Most were crying, some of them were looking to others for comfort, but they all had their attention on him. He began speaking.

"This, this is my second time up here in about six months. The last time I spoke in this place was when my parents passed away. But there is something that I have learned that makes this different for me. All of us here today have come to mourn and grieve for her. That's not what this _is_; this is not a time of wretchedness. Though short, Marcia's life was not sad. This is not a time of sorrow; this is a time of celebration. A celebration of her life. A time to reminisce - to remember all the good, and bad, times we've all shared with her. Marcia Nady loved her life, she once told me she loved when it rained. It soothed her to sleep. She loved each and every one of you out there. She was a girl who loved everyone…and we all loved her." he sighed, setting his cards down and taking the mic out of its stand and held it in his hands.

A few tears streamed down his by cheeks now, he was trying to keep them down to a minimum for her parent's sakes. "If you haven't noticed already, I've been speaking in the past tense. This makes everything said false. Here's the lesson I've learned in the last few days…we all treat Marcia as if she was gone. She is dead…but not gone. She _loves_ the rain, she _loves _us…and…we love her. Amamos usted, Marcia. I'm sorry…" he whispered the last part to himself, setting the microphone down.

He walked down the four steps, never once stopping to look at the crowd. He walked to the isle of seats where his seat was, taking his seat next to Ororo. He felt something brush his shoulder and he looked over and saw a young woman just taking her seat right now. She quickly looked at him to apologize and her jaw almost dropped. "Marc…?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Whisper…?"

Whisper sat down, slowly, looking at him. "You knew…"

"Yeah…and you knew…" Marc nodded.

"Yes…" she said, slowly.

They both stared at each other for a moment then look forward gradually and unbelieving.

After a few more members of the family spoke, everyone had moved to coffin which was in the spot it was to be lowered.

There were a group of people standing around the coffin, family, and friends. Marc, Whisper, and Ororo stood together facing a side of the coffin. Gloria and Alex stood at the head of the coffin, Gloria leaning against Alex's chest as she wept.

"We commend to almighty God…" The Minister said, his arms behind his back as he stood in front of Marc and the others.

If you stood in the crowd, you would feel a part of something big for there was seventy-six people there this day. However, if you looked down on them from the tallest tree they would seem nothing more than a speck.

"...our sister, Marcia Nady…"

Marc ad Ororo held hands as tears streamed slowly from Marc's eyes. Whisper crossed her arms over her chest, her head slightly turned down, crying.

"...and we commit her body to the ground."

Marc, Whisper, and Ororo were still at the front of the group, the only person ahead of them was the Minister. Whisper was wearing a black dress, much like the one she wore the previous night. Marc in black pants with a black coat over it. Ororo word a black dress as well.

"Earth to earth...ashes to ashes…" The Minister continues, Gloria winces. "...and dust to dust."

They all can hear the sound of a shovel digging into earth. Whisper suddenly turned and buried her face in Marc's shoulder. He put his arms around her, still staring at the coffin.

A shovel began putting the first dirt on the coffin, then the second scoop followed, then the third, the fourth, the fifth, the six, the seventh. Soon, the coffin was fully concealed to them all by the earth.

"The Lord bless her and keep her."

The group slowly broke up. One by one they all hugged Gloria.

"The Lord makes his face to shine upon her and be gracious to her."

Marc walked with Whisper, still upset and leaning on his shoulder. Ororo walking in the background behind her. Alex and Gloria hug each other tightly.

"The Lord lift up his countenance upon her…"

Marcia's little cousin, Jake, leans on his mother's shoulder, crying.

" ...and give her peace."

The sun was high over head now, some time had passed. The family had all moved back over to the reserved area.

Marc standing alone at the grave, with Whisper behind. "Marcia…I'm so sorry." he said, looking at the headstone. Flowers and pictures surrounded it.

"Did you love her?" Whisper asked, walking up to him.

"I loved her once…" he replied.

"I knew it…I could see it in your eyes. You're a mutant too, right?"

This caught Marc completely off guard and he had no clue what to say. "Uh- huh, um, well…ahh….what?" he stumbled through his words, putting his hand on the back of his head.

"It's okay…I used to hate mutants. Until I met Marcia…and now you." she said, walking over and putting her hand on his shoulder. "It got me thinking that their not that bad."

Marc smiled. "But, you don't really know me. I could be a monster, a murderer, a cold blooded killer. Or worse…I could be a politician."

Whisper chuckled. "I can tell…you're too sweet to ever kill anyone."

"Thanks, it a nice thought." he said with a small sigh.

Ororo walked over to them slowly. "Marc, it is time to go."

"Oh…okay." he replied and hugged Whisper. "You gonna follow me to New York?" he asked, jokingly.

"No…" she chuckled, hugging him back.

He smiled. "If you show up at my dentist's office I'll be mighty angry."

"You did say anything about your hair salon." she said with a wink.

"Call me some time." he said with a smile.

"It was nice meeting you." Ororo said, shaking hands with Whisper.

"Ditto."

"Ready?" Marc said.

Ororo nodded. "Yes." They both started walking away. They said their goodbyes to the family and then drove off back to the hotel. Once there they grabbed their things and headed for the airport and back to Bayville.

* * *

That's all for now. Thanks to all of you who've stuck it out with me. Thanks. Please review. 


	47. Friends Close

Disclaimer: I own nothing but a pen and pad. Marvel ownes the X-Men.

A.p.R. - I've been gone for quite some time now. I appologize. But my career has taken me away so much! I'm trying to find the time to write but it will be more often hopefully. Thanks for being understanding.

-

Scott stood in the corner of the rec-room, arms crossed over his chest just staring at Professor Xavier. Every member of the X-Men and the New Recruits were just standing there staring at him. They all seemed uncomfortable, each rearranging and shifting as they pondered what the Professor told them. They looked at him, at each other, at no one. This went on for a few moments. Finally, Bobby broke the ice.

"You want to run that by us one more time?" he said as he scratched his forehead.

"What exactly was unclear here?" Scott said. "The guy who hated and harassed us for being mutants is now a mutant and staying with us. What's not to get!" he said, sarcastically. Scott disliked Duncan with a passion.

"Scott, everyone, I know this is difficult to understand." Xavier stated.

"Damn right it is." Jubes said.

Logan was sitting in the infirmary as they argued in the rec-room. He had an apple on one of his claws, cutting slices off with another claw then eating them. Duncan stirred in the bed and his eyes fluttered opened slowly.

"Good afternoon, sleepyhead." Logan said, seeing on the clock that it was three o'clock.

Duncan sat up quickly and looked around, breathing very heavily. Lacerations above his lip a few on his cheek and on big diagonal on from his forehead to the brim of his nose. "What the- where am I?"

"Take one wild guess." Logan said, sliding another slice into his mouth.

"Whoa! Heh - you're one of those mutants!" he said, almost in shock.

"Yeah, same to you, bub." he said, Duncan almost fell out of the bed.

He sighed, looking down, deep in thought. "So, it wasn't a dream?" he asked.

Wolverine did not feel it was even necessary to look at him. "I'd pinch ya…but I really don't want to."

"Like I'd want you filthy mutie hands on me." Duncan retorted, under his breath.

The next thing Duncan knew, he was slammed up against the wall harshly, Logan's fist and forearm against his chest. The two side foot long claws shot out, the cold adamantium blades rested against his cheeks. The center claw was coming up slowly and threateningly. "Hey, buddy, I know you're new to this but you're a mutant now! SO let's get some things straight-"

"Logan. Could you be so kind to leave Mr. Matthew's head attached to his neck?" Hank said, from the doorway.

Logan dropped Duncan on the floor then helped him up. "Only 'cause you asked so nicely."

Duncan leaned against the wall for support before sitting on the bed. "Wait…are you coach McCoy?" he asked.

Logan stormed out of the room and Hank rolled his eyes. "Indeed."

"You weren't as furry last time I saw you…"

"Freak Rogaine accident. That's not the point. I wanted to talk to you about yesterday. What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it…" he said, turning away.

Hank raised a brow. "It looks like you received a taste of what anti-mutant hate crimes feel like."

"My own dad…" Duncan muttered under his breath. "That Xavier guy is supposed to be a psychologist or something…I want to talk to him." he added.

"Not right now…you are going to need to rest. Follow me to your room." Hank stated, Duncan got up and followed him.

Back in the rec-room they were still arguing. "C'mon, he's gotta be screwing with us." Jubes said, gesturing her hands wildly.

"She's got a point." Tabitha said, sitting on the couch.

Jean stood behind the Professor. "Listen, I don't like Duncan as much, if not more, than the rest of you…but we can't throw him out. He's a mutant."

"He's still Duncan Matthews!" Scott snapped.

Jean glared. "Scott!"

"Jean!" Scott barked.

"Bobby!" Bobby yelled. Everyone stared at him and he offered them a nervous smile. "Sorry, I got caught in the moment."

"He shouldn't be here." Kitty said.

"Oh, like Lance should have been here that one time?" Roberto shouted.

Kitty gave him the look of death. "Hey I…"

They all went on like this for a while. Arguing, shouting, snapping.

Charles Xavier looked disappointed. "I thought I taught you all better than this. I thought I taught you to accept people for what they are. To never judge and that everyone deserves a second chance. I guess I haven't taught you anything." he said, as the room grew silent. He wheeled out of the room.

They all watched him as he exited then looked down at their shoes, feeling ashamed.

"That was harsh…" Evan said.

Duncan was now in his room, it was not the same as his old room. The beige walls were covered by nothing, unlike his room. His room was filled with posters, trophies, and his sports equipment. This room had nothing. No trophies on the shelves or equipment littering the floor. Just nothing. It wasn't the same. It never would be.

His legs, chest, and left arm were bruised and vaguely burned from the taser attacks. His back covered with bruises that hurt every time he moved. One thing he had concluded from those: baseball bats hurt.

Xavier knocked on the door, entering after Duncan gave him the OK. "I wanted to talk to you." he said.

Duncan nodded. "About what happened yesterday?"

"Yes."

"Then let's talk. Where should we start, it was a very eventful day." he said, rebelliously.

"What happened yesterday? Start from the beginning."

"Well, my alarm clock went off…" Duncan explained the whole day with every detail he remembered. From that great breakfast to the tasering he had after school. "Then, I stumbled my way here…next thing I know I'm pinned up against a wall about to get my head cut off."

"Duncan, I want to offer you a chance to become a student at my institute. You can learn to control your powers-"

"I can't believe that happened…I never…why did this happen?"

"It's genetic. You could not have stopped it."

"How did I catch it?" Duncan wondered in unbelief.

Xavier blinked, stupefied by that unusual statement. "It's genetic, you didn't catch anything."

Duncan stood up and glare viciously at the wheel chaired man. "Well I didn't deserve it! I didn't deserve for my life to crumble, I didn't deserve for my friends to abandon me! And, God knows, that I did not deserve for my parents to turn on me!"

Charles raised an eyebrow. "And the others did?"

"What!"

"Did any of the others who have gone through _deserve _it? Did Jean deserve it when her awards were taken away because she was special? Were you justified when you and your friends harass mutants as if they are second-class citizens, no better than? Is it right that we are discriminated and characterized as menaces when most of us are just trying to live a normal life?"

"Oh, what…are you so smart? It's my life! MINE! Now what? I'm nothing! All my friends equal up to the sum of zero. My dad disowned me. And, to top it all off, I don't even know how to control my thingy-powers!"

Xavier, feeling somewhat bewildered, had put up with Duncan for long enough. "Well then, you begin training in the morning - six a.m. sharp in the garden." he said, wheeling out of Duncan's accommodations.

In the kitchen…

Tabitha Smith limped over to the counter and sat on it. The phone rang and she answered it. "White House." she stated, sternly. "Rick, no, wait…" she said with a laugh but it was too late. He had hung up. The phone rang again. "Bat Cave, who may I say is calling?" she asked, chuckling. "I can't believe you fell for that one, Rick." Tabby nodded. "Oh, yeah, I'm feeling much better, I still have to limp, but I'm better. My collarbone still stings a teensy bit. It was sweet of you to check up on me…sappy, but sweet."

Ray was standing in the hall behind her, watching her. Overhearing the conversation. Tabby was just hanging up the phone when she saw him. "Oh, what's up, Ray?"

"I, uh…I just wanted to check on you."

She humored him with a smile. "I'm good."

"Because…I really am concerned for you…"

"Yeah…"

"Yeah…" he replied, quiet and defeated.

Ray turned around and was about to walk away when he couldn't hold it in any longer. "Tabby, you haven't been the same since…" he sighed, stopping short.

"What?" she looked curious now.

"Since you went to the movies with, Rolando." he answered.

"His name IS Rick." she defended.

He rolled his eyes. "We've barely hung out these past two weeks!"

"Calm down, okay!"

"Why? Why! Is it because you always get what you want? Why, huh! Because everything revolves around you! Or wait, is it because when I try to spend time with you, that hack-musician and his crappy music block out what I'm saying?" Ray yelled.

"Hey! The music's not crappy-"

"Not my fault you have Van Gogh's ear for music."

"Ray!"

"Sorry!" he groaned. "Sorry…damnit!" He slammed his palm against the wall, breathing heavily. Ray stood there, looking at the wall, trying to sort his thoughts. "I should have seen this coming. The handwriting was right there…on the wall…" He pointed his finger and dragged it across the wall as he walked towards her. "Right there, highlighted with a hot pink marker. But I didn't…want to believe it. Maybe it would just fade away, I thought."

"Stop it! Just because him and I are spending time together doesn't mean I like Rick. I like Rick!" As soon as she said that her hands clamped over her mouth tightly.

Ray halted in his spot, mind hardly there and heart no longer beating the same as it previously was. He looked at her, not with anger, not with hatred, but with understanding. Complete and total understanding. He had seen it coming; he had waited for it patiently. He wouldn't believe it unless she said it and she said it. "Okay…" he said, tiredly, walking away.

"Rick, wait." Tabby said, grimacing suddenly after that mix up. "I mean, Ray…" she added. He did not show any signs of acknowledgement.

She wanted to cry but she was angry. She grunted and slammed the phone on the counter, resting her weight on the arm she slammed it with. She pouted, silently to herself. Silent and alone.

The others were absorbed in their own business, their squabbling voices exuded from the rec-room. They did not know that Tabby was hunched over in the kitchen sobbing. Silent and alone.

-

Please Review.


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